Unovian Chronicles
by PokeRus
Summary: Some people are destined to be heroes, but not me. It sounds like way too much trouble if you ask me. Follow young Dante Masters as he unwilling becomes entangled in a struggle for the heart of the Unova League. Updates every Friday!
1. As the Bouffalant Roam

_**Some people are destined to be heroes, but not me. It sounds like way too much trouble if you ask me. Oh me...well my name is uh...Dante Masters. Let's see here I'm fourteen years old and I...oh...live with my mother Adhan in Nuvema Town. Its a pretty nice city if you enjoy peace and quiet, that is. I kinda have the reputation of being a coward, but I'm not. I just like to be careful. Even though I say that I am afraid of a lot things like the dark, heights, closed spaces, and certain Pokemon like Bug and Ghost types. Listing all the things I'm scared of is making me depressed let's talk about something cool. I might be scared to go outside and terrified of Pokemon, but I've read all the books published by Professor Cedric Juniper, so I know quite a bit about them.**_

_**A/N: Please read and review. I'd really appreciate it.**_

* * *

**Unovian Chronicles**

**Entry One**

**As the Bouffalant Roam**

_This world is inhabited by creatures that we call Pokémon. People and Pokémon live together by supporting each other. Some people play with Pokémon, some battle with them. But we don't know everything about Pokémon yet. There are still many mysteries to solve. ~ A quote from the Professor Oak. It was true at least everyone I knew had a Pokémon, but the good Professor's quote failed to mention how there were evil people around who used Pokémon for nefarious ends._

_Anyway I live in the Unova region quite a bit away from Kanto or Johto. I'm a huge history buff here's just a bit of what I know; In mythology, Unova was created by uniting the warring peoples of the land by twin heroes. They used a single dragon sometime more than 2500 years ago. The brothers started to argue over their beliefs; the elder brother sought truth and the younger brother sought ideals. Their arguments split the single dragon into Reshiram, who sided with the older brother, and Zekrom, who sided with the younger brother. Since they were both born from the same dragon neither could defeat the other and the brothers declared that there was no right side. However, eventually their sons continued the fight and both the dragons started to battle again, destroying the Unova region with their fire and lightning powers before disappearing. _

_Sometime after the original dragon had been split into Reshiram and Zekrom, one of the two brothers and their respective dragon created the Relic Castle, which was the seat of a new civilization for people and Pokémon. This had happened so long ago that it was mere myth now, no one actually took it seriously. I always assumed that it was just some story parents told little kids to get them to mind._

Dante had not lived in Nuvema Town for all that long its been around about seven years since he originally lived in Virbank City. Unlike Virbank City, Nuvema Town was incredibly quiet something that Dante loved. There he knew he was safe, the house he stayed in had two stories, the first being a living room and kitchen area where he and mother enjoyed fine Kalosian dining, while upstairs on the second story was Adnan's master bedroom and the last room on the hall held Dante's room. Confined in his room Dante spentless countless there with a Wii U controlled with a Wii Remote, connected to a television, and a laptop. It had everything he needed. If Dante had a fridge he would never have to leave.

Inside a deep dark room only lit by the glow of a flickering television screen. Dante never took his attention off the laptop on his bed, he possessed messy dark brown hair and even his eyes were light brown. Dante wore a long sleeved light blue jacket with dark blue cuffs, some black cargo pants and a pair of black sneakers with red treads.

The bedroom was filthy with only thing the reclusive Dante needed in his life was his laptop computer. Sitting crossed leg on the floor digging into a bag of potato chips, he flipped open the screen logging onto the Pokémon League Database. Moving through the different headlines he realized that the annual Vertress Conference was winding down. _"Looks like I already missed the good parts huh?" _

Dragging his mouse around the screen he noticed a special window. Something labeled special event caught his eye._ "Huh? What's this?"_

Opening the link Dante's eyes widened as he witnessed the Unovian League champion Alder stepping into the light of Vertress Stadium with an extremely displeased expression on his face. _"Man this is going to be epic."_

On the screen a spotlight followed a haggard middle aged man stepping down the corridor and based on his disheveled appearance it was clear that Alder was a world traveler. Alder had purple eyes, possessed long wild orange and red hair tied back in a black rubberband, and he was quite hairy. Alder wore a yellow poncho with six Pokéballs hanging around his neck like prayer beads, a short-sleeved black undershirt, some tattered white pant, and he also wore a pair of black sandals. On each hip Alder wore an additional three Pokéballs.

"Whoa its the champion!" Blinking wildly Dante couldn't believe his eyes it was actually Alder he hardly ever battled anymore. He was extremely wary of battling other Pokémon trainers and he would avoid them at all cost rather wandering around aimlessly with no destination in mind. These days most people considered him a recluse, something Dante knew a lot about.

_From the computer Dante could tell that even the crowd appeared surprised by his appearance. Cutting through the silence was a stout middle age man standing up in the center of his booth. "Greetings folks this is Freddy O'Martin. We have a special treat the Unova League champion has agreed to take on a challenger. Ladies and gentlemen its his apprentice Marshal." _

_Upon hearing Marshal's name, Alder's face distorted quite a bit. Peering up at the announcer's booth he lamented. "My apprentice?! In his dreams. I would rather be taking on the lushious Shauntal or the adorable Caitlin." Glancing down at the field Alder kicked a few pebbles at least it was a grassy terrian nothing out of the ordinary. _

From the entrance on the far side of the stadium out walked Marshal an African-Unovian he styled his hair in a saffron fade with black around the edges. Closing his eyes, Marshal then opened them his only focus was on Alder. He wore a karate gi that resembled a puffy large white hoodie which he wrapped a black belt around. Marshal wore a pair of fingerless orange gloves and some blue bands on his biceps, a pair of baggy orange windbreaker pants with blue buttons along the sides. Being a true martial artist Marshal always walked around barefeet. If Dante remembered correctly Marshal was the leader of the Elite Four.

_Placing his fist together, Marshal lowered his heads somberly reflecting. "I will not disappoint you master. I cannot be your student forever." Alder casted a large shadow over him, Marshal strived to one day catch up._

_Seriously what was with all this bowing they were not exactly in Kanto. "Fine, fine I get it. Let's just get this over with," grumbled Alder feeling a bit uncomfortable. Alder wanted nothing but to return to his endless journeying and reaching up to his necklace he pulled a Pokéball from it. _

_Staring at the ball, he complained to himself. "Just when I finally come into a city after eight months am I greeted by pretty girls, no, I get Marshal."_

_The more Alder thought about it, the more depressed he got. Tossing the Pokéball onto the field he lamented. "Bouffalant let's get this over with."_

_Landing with a thud outside his ball, Bouffalant was a bovine Pokémon with a large, dark afro on its head. Two large, curving horns, each with two golden growths resembling rings, protruded from the afro. It had a shaggy brown hide that ended at its knees and does not cover its face. A large, gray nose sat at the end of its short, beige snout, and its yellow eyes were partly hidden by its hair. There were black tear markings directly below its eyes. Each of its beige legs had a single, gray hoof and its tail ended in a stubby tuft of fur._

_Seeing Bouffalant shocked Marshal how could Alder do something like this. "Master I think you have made a cruical mistake. You know I have reached the pinnacle of the Elite Four by training Fighting-type Pokémon. A normal-type like Bouffalant is at a great disadvantage." Alder lowered his head saying nothing, so Marshal assumed that his master was testing him._

_"I see...I will show you my growth master," nodded Marshal reaching inside his gi pulling out a Pokéball. "Conkeldurr I require your assistance."_

_Appearing out of its Pokéball, Conkeldurr was a bipedal sepia-colored Pokémon resembling an ogre. Its nose was large and red, with its face also having a prominent brow, a wide mouth, a gray tuft on its chin, dark rings around its eyes and a bulbous feature sticking up from the back of its head. Thick violet bands and tendons adorned its shoulders, chest, back and thighs. It was known to carry concrete pillars in its massive arms, which it used to attack strongly without using physical strength or to support its massive upper body._

_The tension filled the stadium as both Conkeldurr and Bouffalant glared at each other. "The tension is pallible folks which one of these behemoths will be victorious."_

_"I see...the master is testing our resolve. Conkeldurr we must prove our mettle. Use Stone Edge immediately," Marshal ordered._

_"Conkel!" roared Conkeldurr spreading out his arms as its body became surrounded in white energy for a moment and the energy then came off its body in the form of two rings of jagged white energy orbs that floated around it. The white energy then faded forming the orbs into gray jagged stones. "Durr!" Once Marshal gave the okay, Conkeldurr then fired the stones at its opponent._

_The jagged rocks flew across the field shredding blades of glass as they flew past. Since it recieved no commands Bouffalant had no thoughts about sidestepping the rocks. Each jagged boulder smashed into its face and afro. The impacts filled the stadium with earsplitting shockwaves, but shaking its head Bouffalant really showed no signs of exhaustion. _

_Taking a seat in his booth Freddy announced. "W...whoa did you see that folks?! Bouffalant took a direct blow from Conkeldurr but is unfazed."_

Taking a bite out of another potato chip, Dante could not believe his eyes either. "Geez...that was nuts! It takes some guts not to even try defense."

_Glancing back at Alder, Bouffalant expected some sort of command. When it became apparent that Alder wasn't going to say anything Bouffalant wandered over where he was. Leaning forward Bouffalant glanced at his face becoming extremely furious for some reason. "Zzzzzzz..." snored Alder he had fallen asleep right at the start of their battle. _

_Stomping its feet smoke pillowed from Bouffalant's snout. Lowering its head it charged straight at Alder with little remorse and the afro on its head started pulsing red. The closer Bouffalant got to its master the front of it head also glowed yellow. "Bouffa!" snorted Bouffalant jerking forward delivering a powerful headbutt with the yellow part of its afro._ _Slamming its feet down Bouffalant thrusted its head forward throwing Alder forward. _

_The shaggy old man were sent careening before smashing straight into a wall. "Whoa..." Smashing into the wall he collapsed into a heap with pieces of rubble landing on top of him. _

_The whole arena gasped at the exact same time. Such brutality was not uncommon in a Pokémon battle, but this something entirely different. Freddy made his observations. "Um...Using Head Charge on its own trainer Bouffalant and Alder really are something else."_

_Taking a full blow from Bouffalant when it headbutted you, would cripple a normal person but Alder sprung up like it was nothing. Making his way slowly over to Bouffalant, Alder ran his fingers across his stomach grimancing. "Erhm...Sorry bud I'm still a bit tired. We really haven't a goodnight's sleep in months."_

_Marshal had sparred with his Pokémon before, but not to that extent. "Is such a display part of your training master?"_

_Patting Bouffalant's massive afro, Alder attempted to console the beast snickering. "Not really." _

_Taking his place behind his Pokémon, he was finally ready to begin. "Alright now that I'm wide awake. Playtime is over." Cracking his knuckles. "Okay use Horn Attack!" Bouffalant lowered its head radiating a silver energy that erupted from the ends of its horns covering them completely. Bouffalant moved so fast that Conkeldurr could not follow its movements until it was taken down by the Bash Buffalo Pokémon with its head down. _

_Conkeldurr was knocked backwards, but the Muscular Pokémon quickly slowed its inertia by slamming its stone pillars into the ground. Watching the ground seeing how long the treads his Pokémon left behind, Marshal exclaimed. "Excellent work Condeldurr. See I was correct not to underestimate the master. No more holding back for us aw well. Use Bulk-up." _

_"Durr!" Conkeldurr's body gave off an orange aura as it flexed its body, causing its muscles to thicken for a few moments. "Conkeldurr!"_

_"Hmm...That doesn't sound like a bad idea," snickered Alder rubbing the subtle on his chin. Turning his attention to Bouffalant he nodded. "Okay partner use Focus Energy." Shaking all over Bouffalant stomped its hooves repeatedly into the ground leaving footprints behind forcing it's body to shimmer white. As the glow rose up to the Bash Buffalo Pokémon's afro, making it glow bright blue._

_Gripping the table Freddy O'Martin left fingerprints behind. "Both trainers are powering up their Pokémon. Who knows what horrors we will be witnessed to?!"_

_"Let us not disappoint the fans Conkeldurr. Use Strength," commanded Marshal throwing a roundhouse kick. Lumbering for Bouffalant, Conkeldurr swung its concrete pillars over its head, slamming them into its opponent's head. _

_Bouffalant braced itself popping off Conkeldurr's stone pillars with its impressive afro. "Bouffa!"_

_Freddy O'Martin let out a horrified gasp. "What kind of monster is Bouffalant? Is he really that much stronger than Marshal's Conkeldurr?"_

_"Yawn...I've had just about enough of this Bouffalant finish this of with Giga Impact," yawned Alder rubbing his stomach. He was also getting to be quite hungry. "I wonder what kinds of diners Vertress City has?"_

_Smoke poured from Bouffalant's snout as its body became surrounded in an invisible energy. A bright flash of yellow light appeared in front of its face as it faced towards Conkeldurr. It then shot itself at the Muscular Pokémon_ _and an orb of light purple energy with spiraling light yellow streaks around it appeared. The streaks of light wrapped themselves around the Bash Buffalo Pokémon's body and it slams into Conkeldurr with great force. Conkeldurr attempted to shield itself with its stone pillars, but Bouffalant shattered them into millions of tiny pieces._

_Without its stone pillars Conkeldurr could not even stand properly and it collapsed to the ground flopping around like a Magikarp. Paying attention to the battle the referee decided to call it a day stopping the match._

_The crowd erupted showering both combantants with praise. "I...I think that's it folks. Marshal and Conkeldurr have fallen to the Unova League Champion Alder and Bouffalant!" announced Freddy O'Martin from his perch._

_"I stand in awe of your prowess master. I see I still have much to learn," Marshal quipped recalling Conkeldurr to its Pokéball._

_"Knock it off Marshal, I'm not your master. Look you've got to find your own way," Alder grumbled shaking his head. It appeared that this wasn't the first time he told his apprentice this._

Staring at the glowing box, all the life drained from Dante's face. "That's enough to discourage anyone. If the strongest of the Elite Four can't defeat him then what chance does a challenger have against Alder?" That's why he rather watch on television or online; why bother when it was impossible to win.

Did Dante have a chance to battle Alder, heck no. Not some kid from the podunk Nuvema Town, a rural town whose sea breezes gave the sense of something coming. Thinking about it Nuvema was quite large for a town it was known to have a harbor and an airport with an airport tower. Professor Juniper's lab was located here with a variety of Pokémon living there. Nuvema Town also had numerous houses and shops.

* * *

A beautiful afternoon greeted Nuvema Town, stepping out of the Pokémon Laboratory were Dante's best friends Cheren and Bianca. In Bianca's hand was a long red metallic capsule with a release valve fixed on the side of it. Shaking the capsule Professor Juniper entrusted her with Bianca placed an ear against it trying to figure out its contents. She could something rattling around inside, but could not make it out. "I betcha Dante's gonna be so happy!" Rattling the contents inside the capsule, she wondered aloud. "I wonder what it is?"

A flock of Pidove flew overhead as Cheren straightened his tie looking back at her. "C'mon let's hurry up and deliver it. The professor said that we should open it together."

Closing his laptop, Dante looked around his cluttered room thinking where to begin cleaning. _"Ugh...this place is a dump."_

Picking up a stack of newspaper Dante heard his doorknob rattling. "What are you doing Dante its like three in the afternoon?" grumbled Cheren waltzing into the bedroom.

Looking around his eyes just about bucked out his head. "Irk?" Dante's room was a complete mess; papers were strolled all over the place, his bookshelf was unorganized, and worst his bed was covered in food scraps. Freaking out Cheren broke out into a cold sweat wheezing. "Gehhhh..."

Cheren had shoulder length black hair with a magnifcent cowlick sticking straight up in the air, his eyes were blue and he wore a pair of black rimmed glasses. Cheren wore a white collared blue long sleeved jacket with black buttons and pockets, underneath the jacket was a white t-shirt with red trimming. His style also included some black skinny jeans and a pair of blue loafers. He also was the favorite of all the girls in Nuvema Town including Bianca. Dante could not understand that for the life of him; Cheren had a severe case of OCD.

Stepping in front of Cheren, Dante waved a hand in his face. "Um...Are you alright?!" However his friend was frozen like a statute. "What're you doing here anyway?"

As Dante dealt with Cheren a sweet voice echoed throughtout the room. "Goooooood afternoon." It happened to be only the voice of the most beautiful angel in existence.

Following Cheren into the bedroom was Bianca, ever since Dante could remember he had a crush on her. Bianca had shoulder length curly blonde hair and green eyes. On top of her head Bianca wore a floppy green beret with a white bow on the side. Bianca wore a fully length white shortsleeved dress, an orange sleeveless sweater vest, a pair of orange stockings, some yellow sandals, and she carried an oversized green purse. Even though Bianca happened to be flighty, an airhead, and clumsy; Dante thought everything about her was adorable.

In Bianca's arms she carried the large red capsule. Shoving the capsule into his arms, she happily giggled. "Happy Birthday Dante!"

Taking the capsule from her, Dante never took his eyes off of it. "Happy Birthday?!"

It apperaed that Cheren had recovered from his earlier shock. Removing his glasses, he shook his head grumbling. "Don't tell me you forgot about your own birthday?"

Lifting the capsule over his head, Dante looked it all over eyeballing the device. "No, I remember its my birthday, but I'm surprised you guys got me a present."

"Its not from us. Its from Professor Juniper," Cheren answered returning his glasses to his face.

A large button was attached on the side of the capsule. Turning it over, Dante activated the switch releasing a pressure vavle. Once the capsule opened smoke spewed into his face and out popped three Pokéballs rolling across his bed. Dropping the capsule on the floor a singular card floated down landing under his bed.

Bending over Dante picked up the card reading its contents.

_'Happy Birthday Dante, Its not everday a young man reaches his fourteenth birthday, a true milestone. As a way to celebrate this wondrous occasion I've taken it upon myself to gift you a Starter Pokémon. With this you will clearly be on your way as a Trainer. From Professor Aurea Juniper. PS: As you can plainly see there are three Pokéballs I would like you to share your present with Bianca and Cheren. Happy travels."_

Apparently both Bianca and Cheren had read the note over his shoulder because they were immediately ecstatic.

_"Nooooo..." _Too bad Dante didn't feel the same, how could Professor Juniper do this to him she knew he was afraid of Pokémon. Trembling mightily nothing, but horrible thoughts flooded his mind. Oh why did he always imagine the worst possible outcome. "Umm...uh..." All of a sudden he felt sick dryheaving like he was about to vomit.

Seeing him quickly losing his nerve, Bianca popped up behind him chirping. "Pwease...Dante! If you don't take a Pokémon it would be weird if Cheren and I did." Bianca was not playing fair looking all cute and all, she knew that was Dante's Kryptonite.

Calmly removing a piece of lint from his jacket sleeve, Cheren reprimanded him. "Suck it up! Its your fault we're starting off late as it is."

"And exactly how's it my fault you're not a Pokémon trainer?!" Dante snapped back.

Pointing an accustory finger in his finger, Cheren seethed. "Since you have this ridiculous hang up about Pokémon, Professor Juniper refused to give us one until you cured your phobia."

Wasting little time Bianca quickly opened the Pokéballs. The first Pokémon was Snivy, it was a bipedal, reptilian Pokémon with a slender build. Most of its body was green with a cream underside. A yellow stripe ran down the length of its back and tail, and it had yellow markings around its large eyes. Two curved yellow structures that resembled leaves protruded from its shoulders and bend backwards. Its slender arms had three fingers, while its tiny feet had no digits whatsoever. It had a large, palmate leaf with three prongs on the end of its tail.

Turning up her nose, Bianca quickly dismissed it. "Yech...I don't like lizards." Being quite girly reptile Pokémon did not suit her tastes.

The next Pokémon was Oshawott, a bipedal sea otter-like Pokémon. It had a spherical white head with small, triangular dark-blue ears on the sides. Oshawott's eyes were dark and its dark orange nose was shaped like a horizontal oval. Several freckles covered its cheeks, and two pointed teeth could be seen when it opens its mouth. The light blue fur on its body formed bubble shapes around its neck. Its arms were white and rounded, while its feet were dark blue with three toes each. It also possessed a rudder-like dark blue tail. It carried around a pale yellow seashell called a "scalchop" on its belly.

Stroking her chin, Bianca actually appeared deep in thought surmising. "While its cute, I'll have to pass. I don't like my hair getting wet." Oshawott froze in place his whole shtick was being cute, but for some reason Bianca did not want to be drenched. Now what did Oshawott have to do with that, nobody knew.

Last, but certainly not least was Tepig. It was a quadruped, pig-like Pokémon that was primarily orange. It had oval eyes, a pink nose, and a thick yellow stripe on its snout. The upper portion of its head was dark brown, and its long, pointed ears were positioned closely together. Tepig had short legs, and its front feet were dark brown. A dark brown band covered its lower back and rear. Its curly tail was tipped with a ruddy pink sphere. It appeared that Bianca had finally come across her perfect partner.

Kneeling over Bianca rubbed Tepig's stout head. Snorting loudly the Fire Pig Pokémon rolled over on his back letting her rub its stomach. Stroking Tepig's belly she started giggling. "Those eyes, that adorable tail, and that cute little snout. Ohmygosh I think I've found my baby."

Despite his apprehension about Pokémon, Dante felt a pain in the bottom of his stomach. He felt a sort of pity for Tepig. _"I actually feel sorry for it."_

Moving onto the next Pokémon, Bianca lifted Snivy off the bed placing the Grass Snake Pokémon directly into Cheren's arms. "Here you go Cheren."

Looking up from Snivy to Bianca and back down again, Cheren roared. "What do you think you're doing Bianca? Who said you could choose my Pokémon for me?!"

"I don't know Cheren its just that Snivy seems all smart and bookish like you," Bianca thought staring at the little Pokémon.

After settling with Cheren only Oshawott remained, but Bianca felt it was perfect for Dante. "Okay here's your Pokémon." Oddly enough Dante did not even reach out his arms accepting Oshawott causing the Sea Otter Pokémon land on the floor with a thud. Bending over Bianca ran her fingers over the heartbroken little Pokémon's head. "What's the matter with you? That was mean."

Trying to wave Oshawott off with his hands, but careful not to touch it, Dante whined. "I...I don't want that thing."

Angry with him Oshawott took a deep breath spraying him in the face with water. "Wott!"

Screeches of terror escaped Dante's lips as he hid behind Bianca. He trembled so much htat squeezed her shoulders quite hard. "Ackkkkk!" He knew it behind that cute visage Oshawott was nothing, but a coldblooded killer.

Even Bianca became quite irriated lamenting. "Why are you so scared Dante? Don't you watch Pokémon battles on television all the time?"

Knowing that he had showed a bad side of himself to his crush, Dante let go off her shoulders attempting to salvage his reputation. "Ahem...Those are two different things Bianca. Sure I can watch battles on television its not like I'm around them." Based on the looks he received from Bianca and Cheren it most likely did not work in convincing them.

"Huh?!" Bianca asked tilting her head to the side.

"It doesn't matter Bianca. We're all trainers now and Dante can't possibly ruin that. Now let's go thank Professor Juniper for these Pokémon," Cheren announced looking up into the air. The sunlight peered through the cracked window refracting light off his glasses. Looking like a boss, tiny little hearts floated over Bianca's head. Only if she knew that his flesh was crawling. _"I need to get out of here before I completely lose it."_

Bianca and Cheren left the room leaving Dante all alone with Oshawott. _"Uh..."_

Still a little miffed about being dropped Oshawott moved toward him complaining. "Osha! Oshawott!"

Rolling across the floor hiding behind a chair, Dante screeched. "You stay over there! I am sorry about letting you fall, but don't come near me."

Diplaying a peeved expression Oshawott kept waddling towards him. Dante quickly knelt down searching the ground for a weapon to defend himself with. Luckily he found an umbrella and he intended to use it. "Stay away from me! I...I'm warning you!"

Trembling like a Deerling caught in the headlights he inadvertedly caused the umbrella to pop open. "Ahhhhhhh!" The force of the umbrella opening up suddenly knocked Dante back on his behind.

"Osha. Wott!" grumbled the Sea Otter Pokémon still walking towards him.

Dropping the umbrella Dante barreled down the steps running for his life. Stomping back into the room he grabbed his laptop (Dante seriously could not live without it) before fleeing for his life again."Gahhhhhhhhh!"

Hurrying down the stairs Dante did his best to avoid the encroaching Oshawott, he was determined to not let the Sea Otter Pokémon not touch him. In his haste he forgot to watch where he was going and ended up running right into a wall. _"Whoa..." _screeched Dante bouncing off the wall and rolling down the steps. The Masters' residence was rather beign even the walls were white, some droll art from Nacrene City and multiple potted plants. A couple of silver light fixures hung from the ceiling and a brown carpet completed the the look.

Landing at the bottom of the steps when he finally opened his eyes Dante witnessed his mother's Purrloin standing over him. "You?!" Immediately sitting up, Dante's eyes twinged in fear and he backed up against the wall knocking one of the potted plants off the mantle. The plant fell of the mantle konking him over the head shattering into pieces. A staredown ensued between a dirt covered Dante and his greatest enemy.

Purrloin was a primarily purple, feline Pokémon. Its head had tufted fur on its ears and cheeks. There were long, tapered violet markings above its green, eyes. It had a diminutive black nose on its creamy muzzle, and a small, oval, cream-colored marking above each eye. Its neck, shoulders, back, and hind paws were also cream-colored. The tip of its tail had a curved, vaguely scythe-like extension. Purrloin was usually a quadruped Pokémon, but this particular one could stand and walk on its hind legs as well.

Purrloin was also a major cause of Dante's Pokémon phobia. Whenever Dante was unsuspecting his mother's Purrloin would always bully him such as steal his food, claw at his face, and push him down the stairs. Adhan, his mother, always try to act as peace keeper. She explained to Dante that as soon as he was born Purrloin became extremely jealous, it was used to being the baby. Back in the day Adhan was an actress making some of the best movies PokéStar Studio had ever made and Purrloin was her co-star.

One thing about Adhan that everyone learned quickly was that subtle did not appear in her volcabulary. Adhan had long curly brown that flowed pass her shoulders and warm sapphire eyes. Wrapped around her head Adhan wore a silk jade scarf, a sleeveless green gown sewn together by only the best Leavanny that worked at the PokéStar Studios, and a pair of stiletos. For whatever reason she had decided to take a break from acting, but she never told Dante why. It was always odd to him, Adhan loved acting in those terrible Brycen-Man movies. Even if he tried Dante would never understand his mother she moved away from Virbank City to get away from the paparazzi, but at the sametime she was such an attention hound.

Purrloin loved its dominance over Dante. Checking its claws, he purred loudly. "Purrrr..." Dante's face distorted locking up from terror.

Making his way down the steps, Oshawott rushed over to defend Dante. "Osha!" Despite the way it was treated earlier Oshawott still had its Bushido code.

Dante's eyes widened maybe Oshawott wasn't as bad as he thought. "Y...you're defending me?!"

Hearing all that noise Adhan hurriedly towards their location. "W...What are you doing Dante? Stop playing around with Purrloin and get to Professor Juniper's laboratory. Bianca and Cheren are there waiting for you."

Never taking his eyes off the cat-like Pokémon, Dante seethed through his teeth. "I wasn't playing with your evil Purrloin mom. I fell down the steps and he came to finish me off."

Pretending to be hurt Purrloin stumbled over to where Adhan was standing. The Deceiver Pokémon purred loudly rubbing its muzzle against her shin. Outstretching her hands Adhan stroked Purrloin's head. "Not that again can't you tell Purrloin is a sweetheart." As Purrloin was being petted it flashed Dante a devilish grin.

Trying his best to ignore Purrloin, Dante looked up at his mother changing the subject. "W...wait you knew about Professor Juniper's birthday present?"

"Of course it was my idea. Weren't you surprised?" Adhan chuckled placing her hands on her hips.

Instead of being grateful, Dante flew off the handle. Pacing back and forth in the room, he screeched. "No! How could you do that to me mom? You know I can't be a Pokémon trainer, its too scary out there." In all the time they spent together Dante assumed that his mother would understand him better; not once had he gave her any hint about leaving Nuvema Town.

Shaking her head, Adhan could not understand how anyone would not want to be around Pokémon. "Dante you're fourteen years old most trainers leave home at the age of ten. If you don't start now you'll never be a top Pokémon trainer I mean you're already so far behind."

"You haven't listened to a single word I've said! I never had any intention on becoming a Pokémon trainer just leave that stuff to Cheren," huffed Dante turning back towards the stairs. Turning sideways doing his best to avoid touching either Purrloin or Oshawott he then grumbled. "If you need me mom I'll be up in my room."

Reaching out a hand Adhan grabbed Dante's shoulder preventing him from returning upstairs. "Oh no you don't. Dante I'm not doing this to be mean, I'm doing this for your own good. You can' t just stay couped up in your room. No son of mine will be a recluse."

"Yeah...whatever," sighed Dante trying to break away. "Why would I take advice from someone whose always dressed if they're about to go to some awards ceremony?" However, he could not get away from his mother who was unusually strong.

Thinking that all hope was lost, Adhan's eyes fell upon Purrloin. "I'm sorry to have to do this, but you've left me no choice. Purrloin kick him out!"

A glint of light flashed into Purrloin's sadistic. Brandishing its claws Purrloin slowly walked towards a white-faced Dante. "Purrrrr!"

Dante's knees knocked together and his teeth chattered. "S...Stay back. Get away from me."

"Purrloin, Purr!" Purrloin did not stop instead it began running at him, losing his nerve Dante barreled out the door.

_"Osha?!" _Oshawott looked bewildered before attempting to follow him.

Standing in the doorway watching her terrified son running for his life, Adhan glanced down at Purrloin asking. _"Hmm...Maybe I was too hard on him. Nah, he'll be fine right?" _Smacking the sides of her face she pushed away all negative thoughts. _"No, no, no. All birds leave the nest at some point."_

Purrloin appeared to not even care in the slightest, but even he was sad to see his punching bag leave. "Purrr."

* * *

**A/N: Whew I didn't even mean to write the entire battle between Alder and Marshal, but once I started I couldn't stop. Oh well, after a series of bizarre occurences Dante, even if is unwilling, is on the road to becoming a Pokémon trainer. **

**Stay tuned for Chapter Two The Darmanitan Man.**


	2. The Darmanitan Man

**Previously on Unova Chronicles: I was watching the wrap-up to the Vertress Conference on my laptop. A thrilling battle between Marshal and Alder it was really riveting. That was until I was rudely interrupted by my neighbors Bianca and Cheren. They came with a birthday gift from Professor Juniper. While most fourteen year olds get a birthday party or something, presented me with three Pokémon. I had no interest in them, but Bianca happily passed them out. Cheren got a Snivy, Bianca took Tepig for herself, and I got stuck with Oshawott. Once I ventured downstairs I learned that all this was my mother's idea. Confronting my mother, the washed up movie star, was pretty much a bad idea. She forced her demonic Purrloin on me, kicking me out of my house. What am I gonna do now?**

* * *

**Unovian Chronicles**

**Entry Two**

**The Darmanitan Man**

Slamming his eyes shut, Dante struggled mightily trying to get away from Purrloin. Disoriented he ended up stumbling around outside of their house. he staggered across the Nuvema Town street. In his sheer terror he did not pay attention to his surroundings narrowly crashing into Cheren. How come Adhan's Purrloin was so evil-what had he done to it.

Seeing Dante flail wildly towards him, Cheren sidestepped him. _"Seriously?!"_

This allowed Dante to fall face first into some nearby bushes. All different types of berries rained down splashing against his face. Shifting on his side, Dante tried to sit up. Much to his chagrin, the bushes were home to a flock of Pidove and they emerged from the bushes. The Pidove were more scared of Dante than he was of them. Still that did not stop him from getting up and running around squealing like a little girl. "Kyahhhhhh!"

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Cheren felt more embarrassment than his friend. "Dante please. Pidove are entirely harmless." The Pidove were a mainly gray, pigeon-like Pokémon. They had golden, oval eyes and tufts of feathers atop their rounded head. They had short, black beaks with a bulbous pink cere, and a black patch on the nape of their neck. There was a wide, heart-shaped area of lighter coloration on their chests. The Pidove black wings had a thick gray stripe down the side. They possessed pink feet with black talons.

As the Pidove flew away many of their little feathers rained down from the sky. Dizzy, confused, and exhausted he collapsed laying flat on his back staring at the afternoon sky. Breathing heavily he wondered when this nightmare would subside.

Cheren seeing everything approached him. Looking down at a dizzy Dante, he simply guessed. "Hmm...Purrloin again? Still not getting along I see." Whenever it came to his mother Adhan's Pokémon; Dante would just spaz out. There were times when Dante ran around in nothing, but his underwear through the town. All that just to avoid Purrloin. What was so frightening about a Purrloin anyway, Cheren just could not see it.

Glaring back at his house, Dante grinded his teeth sneering. "Crap I hate that Pokémon." That Purrloin had made his life a living hell. In all honesty he had never once considered leaving Nuvema Town. Maybe just maybe getting away from Purrloin could not hurt. Anything was better than being a prisoner in his own home.

Standing up slowly, Dante placed a hand over his mouth attempting to cough. It would be best if all parties involved forgot about that little outburst. "Ahem...I think we're in agreement that Bianca doesn't need to hear about this."

A dignified aura wafted from Cheren who loomed over him. "Trust me your secret is safe. I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm friends with a weirdo."

Grabbing a hand full of dirt, Dante tossed it in Cheren's general direction. "I'm not a weirdo."

Looking Dante up and down, Cheren reached down helping up his friend. Letting out a single chuckle, he pulled Dante up. "Honestly you and your mother are something else. It seems that weirdness runs in your family. You're probably the only person in the world afraid of Pokémon. Not to mention that a famous actress like Adhan would leave PokéStar Studios and move out here. "

"I admit that my mom is weird, but I'm not," Dante seethed gripping Cheren's hand rather tightly.

Throwing up his arms in frustration Oshawott was obviously disappointed in his master. The Sea Otter Pokémon happened to be told a few things about trainers from Professor Juniper. Evidently none it was true Dante was nothing like the professor explained. He was not brave, kind, or smart. _"Oshawott."_

Narrowing his eyebrows at Oshawott, Dante was furious it had some nerve. While he might not of understood the words, but the tone in Oshawott's voice was a dead give away. "Ahhh...Who asked you for your opinion you're just a Pokémon. Who cares what you think!"

"Don't blame Oshawott for you being a maniac," Cheren sighed adjusting his glasses. In his quest for utter Pokémon dominance he had expected Dante to be his rival. However, his timid behavior was a major letdown. Perhaps Cheren would have to reconsider.

Eyeing him wearily, Dante placed his hands on his hips laughing dryly. "Ahahaha...What're you doing lurking outside my house anyway? I thought you'd already be at the laboratory." Since when did Cheren care about anyone other than himself.

Now that he thought about it-why was he there anyway. Looking around it was odd Dante did not see Bianca anywhere. Not that he was complaining, but she always followed Cheren around like a lost Lillipup. For the life of him, Dante could not see what Bianca saw in him.

Now they were getting to the real reason Cheren was sulking about. Refusing to make eye contact Cheren's mood suddenly changed. Dropping his head he mumbled. "Oh, about that. I thought after saying our goodbyes. I assumed that we would go see Professor Juniper together. And apparently Bianca is still at home. I fear her father might be a problem."

A cold shiver went down Dante's spine probably at the top of his ever-growing long list of fears Anthony, Bianca's father, had to be near the top. Actually Dante was not alone with this fear even Cheren was afraid of him. Aside from being overprotective of his daughter Anthony was a short tempered lunatic. Ever since Bianca's mother died, he smothered his daughter. It was his decision that Bianca would never be a Pokémon trainer. Anthony also felt like it was up to him to protect his daughter from nefarious boys which meant Cheren drew his ire.

Both boys looked at each other tentatively; neither one of them wanted to confront Bianca's father. Cheren made a few sheepish glances in Dante's direction forcing him to take a couple of steps backwards. Dante sweated profusely pouring from every pore on his skin. Pointing at himself, he was kind of squeamish. "Uh...Why are you looking at me?"

"One of us have to go and get her. And I'm thinking that should be you," remarked Cheren rubbing his chin. Deep down he knew Dante would be the one to go since he was easily manipulated.

Dante's eyes widened he was completely terrified. "Why me?! Can't you do it yourself?!"

"I could do that," replied Cheren, he needed to come up with a way out. Tenting his fingers, he figured a way to do just that. Weaseling over Cheren draped his arm over his shoulder. "Just think Dante this is a way to appeal to Bianca. You always complain that she ignores you. Well this is your way of scoring points."

Dante's face turned red, his ears burned. "W...Wha? What are you talking about? I...I don't like Bianca that way."

"Who are you kidding? It's so obvious. The only person who hasn't noticed is Bianca," Cheren sighed rolling his eyes. Shifting his eyes back and forth, there was no way Cheren saw himself going into the lion's den. "But think of this as your chance to show a different side of yourself. You know instead of that crybaby that wets himself."

Pushing Cheren away, Dante pointed at him shouting. "Hey that only happened once. And I didn't wet myself. Purrloin pushed me into a lake."

Like usual Cheren was able to stare Dante down unnerving him. _"Uh...fine. I'm going."_

Lowering his head the leaves crunched underneath Dante's feet while slowly trekking for Bianca's house. Even though Bianca was his next-door neighbor it felt like an eternity for Dante to reach her home. Holding his stomach, Dante felt like his insides were all twisted all up.

From outside the window, Dante could hear Anthony screaming. Creeping up to the red brick apartment, Dante peered through the windowsill. "No, no, a thousand times no!" A shudder went down his spine, Dante could only guess what they were talking about.

Careful not to bring attention to himself, Dante witnessed Bianca's feeble attempts to defend herself. Following Anthony around the room, Bianca made her case. "Please daddy! I can't be the only one left behind. Dante and Cheren are gonna leave me behind."

Hanging from the shutters, Oshawott watched as well. _"Osha?" _Actually he had no clue what was happening.

The entire window pane that Dante and Oshawott peered through rattled while Bianca's father screeched. "Silence I don't want to hear about those two. That Cheren brat only seems concerned with himself and don't even get me started on that coward. Those two can't possibly protect you!" Ouch it looked like he was not a huge Dante fan, maybe this would be a lot harder than anticipated.

Oshawott was still a bit confused, he did not understand why Bianca and that gigantic man were arguing. "Osha?" Reaching towards him, the Sea Otter Pokémon pulled on Dante's shirt sleeves.

Jerking away his arm in horror, Dante shrieked in horror. "Gahhh!" Oshawott came dangerously close to touching him. Swinging so hard, Dante accidentally caused Oshawott to ram its back against the house's wall. Bouncing against the bricks, Oshawott slinked down angered by this.

"Osha! Osha! Oshawott," Oshawott barked walking straight at him shaking its flippers.

Placing his hands underneath the window, Dante struggled some finally sliding it open. Hopping inside he rolled across the carpet desperately tried avoiding Oshawott. Climbing the walls, the Sea Otter Pokémon followed at him. "Get away from me, you."

Dante had made such a drastic entrance shocking Bianca. "D...Dante?!"

"What're you doing here?!" Anthony snarled. He appeared pretty miffed about the boy coming in through the window.

It appeared that Cheren was right, this was the chance Dante needed to impress Bianca. Pushing himself off the carpet, he began coughing loudly attracting everyone's attention in the household. "Um...sir please reconsider. Bianca is my best friend." Great, alright it seemed like everything was starting off just perfect. Walking around their apartment, he felt it would be best to have a man to man chat with Bianca's father Anthony. "S...She won't be alone Cheren and I will look out for her." Usually Dante was afraid of any kind of tense situation, but he felt like a good impression was key.

However, in reality Dante was not speaking with Anthony. A cheesy grin appeared on Darmanitan's face as it draped an arm over Dante's shoulder. Stroking its chin, the orangutan Pokémon nodded its head agreeing to let Bianca leave. "Darman! Darmanitan!"

A wave of relief washed over Dante's face, it felt like all the tenseness of his body disappeared. He was incredibly nervous when he first entered their household. But now it felt like everything would be fine. "Oh...thank you so much sir. Cheren and I will make sure she'll be safe."

Being mistaken for a Pokémon was a massive blow to Anthony's ego. "Excuse me, but what are you doing? That's not me! That's Darmanitan!"

Taking a closer look at the figure draped over him Dante realized that it was indeed Darmanitan, a mainly red, squat ape-like Pokémon. It had long, bushy flame eyebrows, curled at the base, and round, black-ringed eyes. The upper portion of its tan face was separated from the lower portion by a diagonal red stripe, and its large mouth sported spiked teeth. All these facial features gave the impression of a manic or angered expression. Its head had no discernible neck to distinguish it from the rest of the body and its rounded back, which culminates in a stubby tail. It had long arms with spiky hair fringes on the wrists and large tan hands, with a similar arrangement for its hind limbs. Additionally, Darmanitan had three tan ovals on its underside.

"Ahhh..." Dante screeched pushing away from Darmanitan. Grabbing his chest, Dante exaggerated feeling a heart attack coming on. He could not believe that he allowed a Pokémon touch him. Sitting on the couch Oshawott had blurted out laughing, in the confusion Dante had even forgotten that it followed him there.

However Dante was more interested in getting away from Darmanitan and staggering around the room he ended up just a few steps from Anthony. If Bianca's father was not angry at first, he definitely was now. Trying to regain his composure he bowed profusely explaining. "Oh I'm sorry, but in my defense you look just like Darmanitan."

It was true Anthony did favor his Darmanitan; he was large, red faced, and not to mention how loud he was. Anthony was a pencil pusher working day in and out at the Nuvema Airport. His whole life revolved around making sure Bianca was never in need of anything. He was a rotund individual that possessed a head full of brown wavy hair and tiny green eyes. Nothing about him was exciting he wore a blue sweater vest over a short-sleeved white t-shirt, a pair of brown khaki pants, a black belt looped around his waist, and some black loafers. Even though Anthony tried to hide everything about his past he still wore a long red sash around his neck, a memoir from his Red Flash days.

Dante's attempts to make a good impression backfired tremendously. "I'll pretend that I didn't hear that," grumbled Anthony. Raising an eyebrow, he folded his arm sighing. "And what're you doing here anyway?" He had never expected much of Dante everyone in the town knew of his overt fear of Pokémon. Adhan and her weird son was the talk of the city.

Frightened by the scene Dante's throat felt dry. "Um...Professor Juniper...all gave us Starter Pokémon and we're...um...seeking permission to go on a journey together?"

Placing his hands on his hips he proceeded to intimidated Dante. "What nonsense is this? How could my daughter, who knows nothing about the world, be going on a journey with Pokémon? Bianca is way too naive people will take advantage of her!"

_"Um...in my defense. I don't even want to be here my mom is making me leave home," _mumbled Dante, he had rather be somewhere else. Not saying a word Anthony just eyed him up and down, Dante was such a disappointment. At this rate he was not convincing anyone.

In tears at this point, Bianca pleaded. "Daddy please. I can't be your little girl forever." In her life Bianca had not took a single step out of Nuvema Town. Nodding in approval Darmanitan flashed another thumbs up he was proud of her.

_"No, I won't allow it. Not after what happened with your mother..." _Anthony grumbled it was hard being a single father and raising a teenage girl.

Moving in front of Dante, Bianca grabbed his arms heading for her bedroom so she could pack. "Let's go Dante." Stopping in the doorway for a minute she lamented. _"I...I'm sorry you feel that way daddy, but I need to do this." _

_"Nooooooooo." _Slumping to the ground Anthony did not say a word, Bianca had never defied him before.

Being pushed up the stairs, Dante glanced back at her. "Wait...what happened to your mom?" Based on getting no response he assumed it was a touchy subject.

Drowning in anguish, Anthony sat in the middle of the room, his face buried in his hands. How could his baby girl treat him so coldly. Outstretching his paw, Oshawott attempted to comfort him. Patting the man on his back, he sighed. "Osha! Wott!"

Grinding his teeth, Anthony exploded scaring off Oshawott. "Get outta here will you!"

Bianca's room had a bookshelf lined with Pokémon picture books, a shelf and two cabinets filled with goods, two plants and a desk. Her bed had pink covers and is on a turquoise rug. A window was on the back wall, with a desk in the bottom-right corner. It was truly a girl's room, it even smelled nice. "There we go. C'mon let's meet up with Cheren."

Being inside her bedroom rattled Dante, he murmured incoherently. _"Um...okay."_

Heading for the front door Dante stared at Anthony, who still did not move an inch with his face buried in his hands. Making her way for the exit, Bianca edged pass him lamenting. _"Bye daddy."_

Taking the first steps out of the apartment Dante slumped against the wall, a bead of sweat dropped off his forehead._ "Whew...I'm glad that's over with." _The whole experience was mind-numbing Dante never wanted to go through something like that ever again. Maybe Cheren was a genius after all, he was smart enough to avoid this situation.

Collapsing next to him even Bianca was exhausted. _"I'm sorry you had to hear all that. It was so embarrassing." _A faint smile appeared on her face, Bianca never wanted to hurt her father. But at the same time she had never felt so empowered, so independent.

On the walk towards Professor Juniper's laboratory, Bianca anxiously tapped her fingers together. "Um...Dante could you not tell Cheren about what happened. It...it'll be a secret between best friends." Nothing would be more embarrassing if Cheren found out by the huge argument between her and Anthony, how would she live it down.

_"...Sure..." _Oh that stung Dante almost collapsed to the ground. Being dropped in the friend zone hurt more than anything.

Leaning against a tree, Cheren glanced up witnessing Bianca and Dante approaching him. "Oh there you two are. What took you guys so long?"

Winking at him Bianca giggled. "Hehehe...its a secret." With that being said she turned walking into the Juniper Laboratory.

Once Bianca disappeared into the Juniper Laboratory, Cheren popped off the tree draping an arm around him. Leaning forward Cheren's glasses dropped to the edge of his nose. _"So how did it go? Did you show her that you were a stud?!" _He had acted as the perfect wingman setting up everything, all Dante had to do was cinch the deal.

Tears rolled down Dante's cheeks. _"No, she said we were best friends."_

_"Owwww...That's got to hurt," _Cheren flinched even he felt that low blow. Noticing how depressed Dante was, Cheren attempted to give him confidence. _"Hmmm...worry not. You'll have other chances to impress her. Remember I'm always in your corner."_

Scratching the back of his head Dante did not know whether to thank Cheren or curse him. He had to know that Bianca had a crush on him. "Um...thanks."

* * *

Slinking into Professor Juniper's place, Dante realized that the place had not change a bit since the last time he visited. Stacks of paper were littered everywhere, books were piled on top of one another, and the place was filled with a musty scent. Cobwebs covered the walls Aurea was really a slob, it seemed like her schedule prevented her from cleaning. _"Yeck!"_

Scurrying around the room was Minccino, a furry, gray chinchilla-like Pokémon with scruffs of fur on its head and neck. It had large ears on the sides of its head with red insides partly covered by tufts of fur. It had large, brown eyes and a small, dot-like nose. Its limbs were somewhat rounded and small, and its ears and tail had white tips. The tail was also long and particularly furry.

"Cino..." Minccino appeared to be a nervous wreck. Looking around feverishly, it hopped from table to table tidying up the room.

Bianca's eyes glowed she thought that Minccino was the cutest thing ever. Meanwhile Dante's flesh crawled. He could not imagine letting Minccino touch his things. _"She really needs to keep that thing on a leash."_

It appeared that Minccino was not the only one freaking out, Cheren's eyebrows twitched rapidly. He was just a few seconds from a full on nervous breakdown. _"I...its so horrible. Nothing is symmetrical." _Before he even knew it Cheren ended up chewing on his fingernails.

Leaning in close Dante inquired about the status of his mental health. "Are you okay?"

Minccino was not cleaning up fast enough for Cheren's liking. Making his way over to the broom closet, Cheren opened it pulling out a dust mop. Holding the dust mop over his head, he leapt into the fray. "H...how can you stand it?! Out of the way fuzz ball."

Before Dante realized it, Cheren had entered into a fencing match against Minccino. The chinchilla did not appreciate his attempts to help. "Um...what are you doing now?" It appeared that Dante was not the only weird one there.

"Minccino knows nothing about the finer points of cleaning. Its just stacking everything up in a pile," barked Cheren pushing the Chinchilla Pokémon to the side.

Shaking his head, Dante grumbled. _"This can't possibly end well."_

Looking around Bianca's eyes searched for Professor Juniper, but there were no signs of her. Letting go off her heavy giant purse she scoured the room. "That's strange if Minccino is here then Professor Juniper must be around somewhere."

Loud banging rattled the front door shocking Dante out of his skin. "Oh my goodness I am so sorry that I'm late. I was studying a couple of Woobat and lost track of time," apologized Professor Juniper rushing into the room carrying about ten different notebooks.

Professor Aurea Juniper was a tall woman with swirly brown hair that was styled like an ice cream cone. Her lovely eyes were cyan a great match for her red earrings. She wore a white blouse, a blue mini-skirt, and a white pair of sneakers with red tread. Juniper was in her early thirties. Dante guessed this because she had her twenty-ninth birthday for the last three years in a row.

"Its fine professor," Bianca happily chirped. "We just got here, too."

Placing the binders on her desk. Aurea looked up seeing Cheren rumble with her Minccino. Running over she pried them apart. "I can't leave for five minutes without chaos ensuing."

Adjusting his glasses, Cheren hissed. "Minccino started it! It refused to clean in a manner suitable to me."

"Whatever...since you're all here its time to get down to business." Making her way back over to her desk Professor Juniper was extremely excited. Aurea beamed from cheek to cheek as she stood behind her desk. Paying attention to her surroundings, she quickly witnessed Oshawott wandering around. Oshawott hung near the back, not too far from his trainer.

Such a bizarre occurrence piqued her interest. "Excuse me Dante, but how come Oshawott isn't inside its Pokéball?! It'll be easier to transport him that way."

Knowing each other for such a short period Dante and Oshawott had already gotten off on a bad foot. "I...I don't want that thing anywhere near me! He's fine just like that!" Just the thought of Oshawott touching him gave Dante the jitters. It did not even matter that it would be inside a Pokéball.

No, Aurea could not let Dante's weirdness distract her. Today was a wondrous one, she had been practicing for this day for months. Every day she would envision giving her chosen trainers their Starter Pokémon. Gripping the sides of her desk. Professor Juniper eagerly leaned forward. "Hi there! I've been waiting for you young people! Let me introduce myself again. My name is..."

Dante and Bianca exchanged confused glances. Just why would Aurea introduce herself. "What're you doing Professor Juniper? We already know who you are," Cheren complained immediately shattering her dream. These brats were ruining Aurea's fantasy. How come they were not well-behaved like Bianca.

Wagging her finger at him, Professor Juniper grumbled. "Come, come, Cheren! This is not a time to take things lightly. Today is a day to remember always, so it's best to behave with some formality. That being so, once again, my name is Professor Juniper. I specialize in the origins Pokémon. I am researching when and how these wonderful creatures came into existence."

"...Sorry, go ahead professor," expelled Cheren lowering his head.

Taking a few steps out from behind her desk, she smiled. "L...like I said with my father Cedric-we study the origins of Pokémon. Ever since I was a little girl I always wondered where Pokémon came from and with this laboratory I hope to solve that riddle." Noticing Dante, Cheren, and Bianca's perplexed expressions, she explained further. "While my father is away he put me charge of the lab, so I've decided to entrust you three with Starter Pokémon and Pokédexes. That way you'll be able to assist with my research."

Even though they were not in a classroom, Bianca raised her hand asking. "Um...what's a Pokédex?"

Cutting her with his eyes, Cheren scoffed. "You need to keep up Bianca everybody knows what a Pokédex is."

Once again Cheren was being Cheren, but Professor Juniper was impressed. "While I am astonished. Its nice work, Cheren! You have already studied Pokémon extensively, haven't you? Still, let me explain everything from the beginning, for everyone's sake."

Turning her focus to Bianca and Dante she explained. "The Pokédex is a high-tech device that automatically records the Pokémon you encounter! So, I want you three to visit many places and meet all of the Pokémon in the Unova region! This is my request. Dante! Cheren! Bianca! You'll go on an adventure to complete the Pokédex, will you not?"

_"Um...no thanks," _a low rumbling noise escaped Dante's lips.

Barely able to contain herself Bianca's voice boomed over Dante. "Yes...a thousands times, yes!"

Tapping his chin Cheren appeared deep in thought. Cheren felt like he was much superior than he Pokédex. However, the device had other functions that could prove useful. _"Hmmm...cataloging multiple Pokémon huh?! The Pokédex could help me weed out lesser Pokémon."_

Professor Juniper flashed a grin of her own. "Here is what I need from you! What I want to hear are the courageous words of people who will blaze new paths around the world! I want you three to travel to many distant places and meet all of the Pokémon in the Unova region!"

"Alright professor I'm in," Cheren announced.

Dante was outnumbered; it seemed like he would be leaving Nuvema Town. _"...Yippie..." _he soured. Dante had another nasty habit of being a sore loser.

"Here you go. The latest in Pokémon technology," Professor Juniper bragged. "I helped but most of the credit goes to my father."

Holding the Pokédex in his hands Dante had no clue what to make of it. _"Uh...thanks."_

Bianca's Pokédex was red and she used it to scan Minccino learning. _"Minccino, the Chinchilla Pokémon: These Pokémon prefer a tidy habitat. They are always sweeping and dusting, using their tails as brooms. Type: Normal."_

She then faced her Starter Pokémon scanning it. _"Tepig, the Fire Pig Pokémon: It can deftly dodge its foe's attacks while shooting fireballs from its nose. It roasts berries before it eats them. Type: Fire. Attacks Known: Tackle, Ember, and Flame Charge."_

Since he had no choice, Dante opened up his blue Pokédex scanning Oshawott. _"Oshawott, the Sea Otter Pokémon: The scalchop on its stomach isn't just used for battle-it can be used to break open hard berries as well. Type: Water. Attacks Known: Tackle, Water Gun, and Razor Shell."_

Despite feeling his knowledge of Pokémon was superior to the Pokédex, Cheren still opened the green device. _"Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokémon: It is very intelligent and calm. Being exposed to lots of sunlight makes its movements swifter. Type: Grass. Attacks known: Tackle, Vine Whip, and Leaf Tornado."_

Rubbing her hands together, Professor Juniper was ready to start their first lesson. "Now that everyone has one, I'll explain. The Pokédex's pages update automatically whenever you meet a Pokémon! Moreover, it's set up so that you obtain even more information when you catch a Pokémon! To make this clear, I'm going to demonstrate."

Even though he appeared disappointed with his Pokédex, Cheren looked up from his. "Whoa! Are you serious Professor. A...about teaching us how to catch a Pokémon?!"

"That's the plan Cheren. Now if you would all meet me on Route One," announced Professor Juniper running out of the lab almost tripping over a chair.

Rushing back into the laboratory, she quickly picked Minccino up. "Oops. Can't forget about you."

Lifting up her oversized purse, Bianca quickly chased behind. "W...wait for me professor..."

With Bianca gone, Dante finally revealed his deepest thoughts. Burying his face in his hands, he sighed. "...Things can't possibly get worst. I wake up one morning get stuck with an Oshawott. Now I'll have to crawl through stinking grass looking for some Pokémon."

Sticking his hands, Cheren peered at him. "How is that a nightmare? I think that sounds amazing."

Once they reached Route One, Dante and Cheren witnessed Professor Juniper in a confrontation with a Patrat. Bianca stood exactly behind her. Bianca held her breath thinking that Patrat could runaway. Dropping Minccino off her shoulder, Aurea faced all three trainers explaining. "Now pay attention I will teach you all how to capture a Pokémon."

Route One was filled with the burrows of multiple Patrat, actually the Scout Pokémon had become a serious problem leaving potholes all over the road. No matter how many times the city pave over the road, the Patrat would just make new burrows. Shrugging his shoulders Dante had never considered even training one. To him the Patrat seemed to be pests and nothing more.

The Patrat that the professor had cornered was a rodent-like Pokémon that resembled a chipmunk. It was mostly brown with a tan stomach and face. It had a large pointed tooth that stuck out of its mouth. Patrat had a flat face, and its cheeks were very round. Its ears were small and pointed. Its head had a black band that covers the eyes, which had red irises with a yellow ring and black pupils. Its feet were small and black with three toes. Its long tail had scruffy white tip, which was usually standing up straight.

Taking out her Pokédex, Bianca scanned the chipmunk Pokémon. _"Patrat, the Scout Pokémon: Extremely cautious, one of them will always be on the lookout, but it won't notice a foe coming from behind. Type: Normal."_

For some reason Cheren felt the need to compete with the Pokédex. "Patrat are very conscious and wary regarding its surroundings and are always on guard. They tend to live in tunnels. Oh, did you know they also store food in their cheek pouches."

_"Oh crap its hideous..." _moaned Dante feeling sick to his stomach. _"T...those beady eyes."_

"Again with the Pokémon phobia Dante? How come you act like this when you watch battles on television constantly," Cheren asked it just did not make any sense. Cheren could understand Dante being afraid of Pokémon, but him eagerly watching League battles was an oxymoron.

Glancing over at Cheren, Dante scoffed. "You watch baseball on television Cheren. That doesn't mean you want to play it in real life."

Turning away from them, Professor Juniper sweated profusely. Her eyes ran back and forth, she probably bit off more she could chew. Battling really was not her strongest suit. Still she could not afford to look bad in front of the impressionable youth. Steeling her nerves pointing forward she cried. "Minccino use Double Slap!"

"Cino! Min!" chirped Minccino scurrying across the grass with its entire tail glowing white. Appearing in front of the burrow that Patrat was guarding, Minccino started slapping it across the face several times.

Surprisingly something about the demonstration did not sit right with Dante. "Um...Is it really okay to just attack Patrat like that...I mean it is guarding its burrow."

Nodding her head, Professor Juniper tried calming his fears. "Yes its fine. Wild Pokémon are meant to be captured." She really did not answer his question.

Covering her mouth Bianca sighed. _"...Oh no...Patrat's getting attacked."_

How could Bianca be so absent-minded. Cheren felt that even she had to know how these things worked. "Well what did you think Bianca?! The only way to catch a Pokémon is by weakening it."

"Okay Minccino now use Tickle," exclaimed Professor Juniper getting back into the battle. Minccino jumped on a bewildered Patrat's back. Patrat scrambled wildly as Minccino began tickling the Scout Pokémon with its tail.

Even though Minccino tickled Patrat with all its might the chipmunk did not even chuckle a bit.

"I didn't know tickling someone was a Pokémon attack?" Dante remarked. It was not something you would see everyday.

Now it was Dante's turn to be stupid, Cheren exploded in his direction. "Tickle is a technique that reduces the target's Attack and Defense!"

All Patrat cared about was his burrow, however Minccino's constant tickling annoyed him greatly. Trying to get back home Patrat needed to get rid of Minccino. Patrat stared it down with an extremely stern expression.

In all honesty Patrat was not scary in the least. However, its bizarre eyes creeped out the Chinchilla Pokémon. Minccino was intimidated enough that it backed off running back to Professor Juniper's side.

Cheren just had to be Cheren explaining Patrat's attack. "That's Leer its a technique that lowers an opponent's defense!"

The brown part of Patrat's arm glowed light blue. Racing forward it sliced the grass like a knife through butter nearly cleaving Minccino. "W...Watch Minccino don't let it Cut you!"

Bending over stroking Minccino's head Professor Juniper cooed gently calming it down. "Now Minccino use Swift!" Regaining its nerve Minccino stepped forward in the tall grass prompting its entire tail to glow gold. Running across the field on all fours Minccino waved it back and forth. Minccino started firing multiple gold-colored stars from its tail at Patrat.

Not budging an inch Patrat stubbornly guarded its home. Peering at its burrow, the Scout Pokémon eased away from the hole. Patrat needed to nip this in the bud, its two front teeth glowed white while growing longer. Hopping out of the grass landing on top of Minccino snapping down its teeth. Patrat clamp down tightly on Minccino refusing to let go.

Flailing around wildly Minccino struggled to get away slapping Patrat with its bushy tail. "Cino! Minccino!"

Removing his glasses cleaning them Cheren dispensed his knowledge. "Be careful professor that was Super Fang!"

"I know that Cheren! Please I have everything under control," barked Professor Juniper glaring at him about his constant interruption. Glancing at Patrat, Aurea felt like she had the advantage. "Finish things up with Hyper Voice!"

"Min!" Both of Minccino's ears rolled up, first one then the other. Stepping up in the grass, it then took in a deep breath and shouts loudly.

"Cinooooooooooo!" As it shouted, the inside of Minccino's mouth glowed white as a beam of wind with turquoise rings inside them come out from its mouth blaring in Patrat's ear.

Spinning a Pokéball on her fingertips, Professor Juniper faced them preparing a lecture. "Now pay close attention. I will display the proper form in capturing your very own Pokémon. Step one select your Pokéball. Step two rear back like a baseball pitcher. Finally Step three release with all your might if you catch the Pokémon its a success. However if you fail just re-follow these easy steps. Oh and sometimes you may need to battle a little longer."

Looking back at the burrow then down at his hands Dante felt extremely uneasy about what just transpired. _"All Patrat was doing was just minding his own business protecting his home. Was it right to just forcibly remove him like that?" _Glancing over at Oshawott, Dante knew that he was not completely friends with it, but he would never ever do something like that. No matter what he felt about Pokémon forcibly removing someone from their home did not feel right.

Stepping through the grass Professor Juniper bent down reaching to pick up the Pokéball. Her face gave the vibe that an enormous weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Gloating from her successful capture Aurea's mind raced. _"Hehehe...Excellent everything worked out perfectly." _Placing Patrat's Pokéball into her coat's pocket, Professor Juniper turned motioning her thin arm up Route One towards the city in the distance. "Alright now that you all learned how to capture a Pokémon follow me to Acculuma Town where I'll be teaching you about this world."

For once Dante was extremely excited his ears tingled from the good news. "So we're going to be visiting the next city over? I can't wait to see what's it like?"

Look up at the sky filled with Pidove, Cheren smiled. "Accumula Town eh? That will be my first stop in rewriting all the Pokémon history books where I'll be the greatest trainer ever."

Bianca's head swiveled back towards her house to the outskirts of town. Even though she told Anthony that she was leaving, actually disobeying him was a whole different matter. _"...Acculuma Town?!"_

Tired of all the interruptions Professor Juniper sighed loudly. All she ever wanted to do was be a good mentor for her students, was that too much to ask. "Quiet you three! And yes, Bianca I wanted to show you what to expect. Now you'll be prepared when you come across several towns in your journey." Dante's heart sank in his chest, it would be so easy just to turn back now.

* * *

**A/N: First off all Pac-Man in smashbros yeahhhhhhhh! And Mega Sableye FTW! Useless trivia time: If you didn't know Nuvema Town is positioned where Coney Island is. Hopefully the grammar is better. I'm still working out the bugs. Now stay Tuned For Chapter Three Joltik of Energy. Until next time!**

**Dante's Team: Oshawott.**

**Also if can spare the time check out Trainer Naps' Pokémon Black and White: Excelsior! Give it a read its really good. **


	3. Joltik of Energy

**Previously on Unovian Chronicles: I tried convincing my mom to let me stay home, but she was having none of it. I was about head upstairs, but she chased me out of my own house with her evil Purrloin. Scrambling through the door, I ended up crashing into Cheren. He was hanging around our house because he was too frightened to visit Bianca's house himself. Cheren smooth-talked me and somehow I was the one sent there. Once I got there I heard Anthony, Bianca's father, really chewing her out. Anthony was extremely overprotective refusing to let her go on a journey. After watching them argue for awhile Bianca dragged me out of their apartment. Then we visit Professor Juniper Laboratory where she gave us a Pokédex and taught us how to catch a Pokémon. The way she caught that Patrat really left a sour note in my mouth, but only I seemed to struggle with that.**

* * *

**Unovian Chronicles**

**Entry Three**

**Joltik of Energy**

Dante's eyes practically teared up as he realized that Nuvema Town was getting farther and farther away. Covering the great distance in his mind heading for Accumula Town, Dante glanced back at his hometown. Small tears dropped saying silent goodbyes to the airport and amusement park. Despite his gripings Dante thought that Route One looked pretty small.

A gentle breeze whipped through the field, the trees fluttered back and forth, it seemed the grassy route leading towards the next city was quite beautiful. Dante's heart-strings pulled him back towards Nuvema Town. However, with his mother and her evil Purrloin lurking there, he knew that he would not be allowed to return home.

Hanging his head, Dante's face locked up he was feeling low probably the lowest a person could feel. Nothing but the most horrible thoughts flooded his mind. _"I just know I'm going to die. I can see the headlines now; boy from Nuvema Town found stung to death by some Venipede." _The thought of laying face down in some ditch with Oshawott standing over him just irritated him.

Cheren remained the only one aware of Dante's demeanor. True to form as a wingman, Cheren elbowed him in the ribcage repeatedly complaining. _"Cut it out dude. You said the thing with Anthony was a dud maybe you can find some other way to impress Bianca. Anyway just take in this beautiful weather."_

Cheren was correct complaining would not help him any. He just needed to suck things up at least things could not get any worst. "I guess you're right." Pushing all his fears and doubts aside, Dante attempted to focus on the positive. Placing his hands in his pockets, a smile forced on his face. "Hehehe...I need to look on the bright side I always wanted to travel the region."

Walking down the dirt road for some reason he still had not recalled Oshawott to its Pokéball. Matching the boys stride for stride patting his chest, Oshawott promised to protect his trainer. "Wott! Oshawott!" The little otter had a stringent code of honor.

Making an inch symbol with his index finger and thumb, Dante inadvertently put Oshawott down. "You must be joking small fry. What can you do against a monster like Hydreigon?"

"Oshawott! Wott! Osha!" Removing his scalchop from his stomach, Oshawott pointed the clam straight at Dante. Based on the expression on its face, Dante could tell that Oshawott was peeved by hs lack of faith.

Watching his best friend enter into an argument with Oshawott was just bizarre. Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, Cheren inquired. "You're so weird Dante. Why are you even having a conversation with that Pokémon?" Not once since Cheren received Snivy had he thought about letting walk around outside its Pokéball. Talking back to him any kind of way was totally unacceptable. "You should just recall it."

A single question escaped Dante's lips. "Why?" It had already been established that the reason Oshawott was not in a Pokéball was because he refused to touch it.

Looking outward Route One was filled with Pokémon; multiple Patrat were sprawled about apparently looking for their captured friend, in a few of the trees some Sewaddle chewed on leaves spinning beautiful threads, Lillipup frolicking around, and Pidove creating nests. It truly was the start of Spring. Route One was also known as a small road by the shore, where you can enjoy the seascape in peace. A breeze from the sea made all the air taste salty. On the roadside numerous windmills spun generating electricity that powered the various cities.

"Oh! I wonder what will happen next?! Isn't this so exciting?!" Seeing all these Pokémon caused little hearts to float all over Bianca's head. Clasping her hands together her eyes darted between each species. "Look at all these cutie pies." Such cute Pokémon were just in eyesight Bianca would sit on her patio gazing at them from afar.

Bianca's eye sparkled, she could envision herself battling aside each one. "Oh a Patrat would be so adorable standing guard of my Pokémon, no a Lillipup loyally protecting me is better, no wait Sewaddle is even better it can make me cute clothes."

_"With the proper training anyone of these Pokémon can become unimaginably powerful," _Cheren observed tapping his chin. While they might not looked like much now Cheren knew that soon they'd become Stoutland, Leavanny, and Watchog; very useful Pokémon. This was when he made a mental note to return to Route One when he had some spare time.

Watching Bianca and Cheren make future plans left Dante with an obvious problem. Just how was he supposed to capture Pokémon when they freaked him out. Oshawott was given to him and chasing after some creature did not feel good either. _"Maybe I'll pass on that."_

Even more excited than the children, Professor Juniper skipped down the trail. "Once we reach Accumula Town. I'll teach you all about the things entitled to a Pokémon trainer." Looking up at the sky Aurea shivered with anticipation she was living vicariously through Cheren, Bianca, and Dante. She had always lived in her father's shadow, but he never sent three trainers off on a journey before. She figured this was her chance to surpass him.

Just stepping in Acculuma Town, Dante realized how much larger than Nuvema it was. For one Accumula Town was filled multiple high-rise apartment buildings, it contained a Pokémon Center, and all sorts of stores. Being this close to the Nuvema Airport a lot of business tracked through Accumula Town with cars being lined from one end of the street to another. Dante thought back remembering that Adhan would always visit this city, whenever she needed to go shopping. Back then Dante was so frightened of Pokémon that he would not step foot on Route One.

The sounds of airplanes taking off from Nuvema Airport filled the air. Dante covered his ears it was so darn noisy. In his opinion that had to be the worst thing about Nuvema Town. Why would such a small town with no other amenities have an airport. "Gahhh..." Strangely enough the Nuvema Airport was extremely busy, business types in and out everyday.

Aurea could see Dante flinching from the sounds of planes taking off. "As you can tell with new trainers flying in and out of Unova everyday. Accumula Town was built to accommodate them," announced Professor Juniper. Nuvema Town was much too small for all the facilities like hotels, restaurants, and cars necessary for an airport.

In the center of the town was an open, park-like area which happened to be Accumula's town square. Around a stone fountain multiple Timburr were scattered throughout the town square. Gathered around each one worked hard building what appeared to be a stage. Timburr was a gray bipedal Pokémon with a dark purple nose. It had bulbous protrusions extending from the front and lower parts of its head and pink, vein-like bulges were present on the back of its head. Similar pink bands adorned its shoulders and thighs. It always carried around squared logs. Using their logs, the Timburr hammered square pegs into the ground.

Gawking at her hands, Bianca knew she could never lift up those logs. "Wow...they're so strong professor."

Holding up a solidary finger, Aurea grinned. "Yes Bianca. Fighting-type Pokémon are quite powerful."

A cold shivered went up Dante's spine in his summation Timburr looked like a demented clown. Taking out his Pokédex, he scanned the little construction worker. _"Timburr, the Muscular Pokémon: Always carrying squared logs, they help out with construction. As they grow, they carry bigger logs. Type: Fighting."_

Was Accumula Town in the midst of some sort of Renaissance Fair, a few people dressed like medieval knights filled the city. Each knight wore silver chain mail armor. The Plasma chain mail was made of alternating rows of riveted rings and solid rings. They were commonly made of wrought iron, but some looked to be made of heat-treated steel. On the breastplate was a black and blue shield with a P that had a lightning bolt flashing through it, Dante took this as their Coat of Arms. Guild marks were stamped on the rings to show their origin and craftsmanship. Over the elaborate chain mail they wore rather unappealing gray robes, black gloves, and pairs of black boots.

They were all walking around Accumula Town handing out all sorts of flyers to anyone who gave them the least bit of attention. The knights walked up to their group handing them a pamplet telling them to stick around for a declaration from the Sage.

Seeing the little Pokémon work so hard with the bizarre people, Bianca's face beamed red. Clamping her hands together like a child. "Oh, this is wonderful. Did you set this up professor?!"

Even Professor Juniper was baffled. Usually she was aware of the on-goings of Accumula Town. "No, I have no clue what they're up too. I can only assume its some sort of function."

Glancing up at the Pokémon Center, Cheren turned up his nose. Staring at the building with nothing, but disgust. "Are you kidding me professor?! I don't have time for this nonsense. I already know what a Pokémon Center is." The nerve of her treating him like some little child, Cheren envisioned himself as the next Unova League Champion.

Narrowing her eyes at him, Professor Juniper felt like Cheren just had to be difficult for no reason. There was no reason for him to behave this way, all he had to do was play along. "Alright Cheren you wait outside."

Brimming with joy Aurea then faced Bianca and Dante, at least they were wide-eyed and youthful. Rubbing her hands together she pretty much dragged them inside. Stepping through the doors she drolled them with information. "Pokémon Centers are a type of building that provides regulatory services for Pokémon trainer. Pokémon Centers are found in most towns and cities; every major city or town holds a Pokémon Center."

Watching Aurea, Bianca, and Dante walk inside the Pokémon Center; Cheren folded his arms grumbling. "Hey professor don't take long." Cheren was on a busy schedule he had places to see and Pokémon to capture.

Again with the disrespect, Professor Juniper began question why she even gave him a Pokémon. "Alright, alright."

Stepping inside the hospital Professor Juniper continued her lecture. "Pokémon Centers are built where many Trainers gather and the area becomes popular. This is to accommodate those Trainers in need and serve as a resting spot. The most common service the Pokémon Center offers is healing Pokémon free of charge. They also have access to video phones, PCs with trading functions and most offer free food and lodging."

Looking around the center, Dante took in all the sights. Multiple trainers were scurrying around trying to sign up for the Unova League, some were sitting around a table describing strategy, and all sorts of Pokémon filled the building. It was just as Professor Juniper had said all of those features the Pokémon Center must of been loaded, Dante had no clue. "And all that stuff is free professor?!"

"Yes, the Pokémon League supports all sorts of features pertaining to trainers," Professor Juniper giggly retorted happy to answer any questions they had.

Glancing to each corner of the building, Bianca could see all the trainers flashing off their various gym badges. A knot swirled in the pit of her stomach it was hard not to feel intimidated. _"Oh...Everyone looks like they know what they're doing." _

Posters on the wall celebrating the Unova League could be seen plastered all over the center. All eight badges were displayed on the flyer along with shadowed silhouettes of the Elite Four. In the middle of the poster was Alder pointing forward as if calling out the trainer. Standing underneath the poster Dante felt crushed by tremendous pressure. "Wow!" Not in a million years did he actually think about becoming a Pokémon trainer it felt like a far off dream.

Unlike Bianca and Cheren; Dante was a sensitive youth he never really said what was on his mind, but still he took everything to heart.

Because of this Professor Juniper had to treat him a bit differently than the other two. "Honestly I think all three of you should aim towards the Unova League. I've watched you kids ever since when you were babies and I'm sure one of you will win the League Champion," Professor Juniper snorted looming over him.

"D...do you want to give it a try?" Dante asked peering at his Pokémon. Oshawott gave him a solemn nod agreeing with his interest in the Pokémon League. What was he thinking; Dante had no clue about the Pokémon League. Sure, he watched them on television, but other than that he was clueless.

Engaging in Pokémon battles had not really came across Bianca's mind until now. Nerves overcame her. _"Battling?"_

Rushing around the center following Nurse Joy every move was an Audino. It was a bipedal, pink-and-cream Pokémon with oval, blue eyes. The top of its head, its back, and arms were pink, while the lower half of its face, body, ears were cream-colored as well as its front and fingers. The patterning of pink and cream on its chest resembled a jacket. There were three digits on its hands and two on its feet. It had a puffy, white tuft for a tail. Audino had floppy ears with thin, curled extensions on the underside.

Removing his Pokédex from his pocket, Dante checked for any information on the little nurse. _"Audino, the Hearing Pokémon: Its auditory sense is astounding. It has a radar-like ability to understand its surrounding through slight sounds. Type: Normal." _

Touching his shoulder, Professor Juniper explained all of Audino's abilities further. "Its true Audino can use these ears as radars, and it has an incredible hearing ability. The feelers on its ears act like stethoscopes in that it can feel the beat of another Pokémon's heart, to assess the Pokémon's feelings and overall physical condition. The feelers are also able to determine when an Egg is close to hatching."

Returning his 'dex to his pocket, Dante looked up at her expectantly. "The Pokédex sure is helpful professor. Did you write all the entries yourself?"

"Alas I did not that honor goes to my father Cedric. He wrote all the Pokédex entries himself from first hand experience," Professor Juniper pouted puffing out her cheeks.

Sweat covered an immensely exhausted Nurse Joy's face. Dragging the children over to the counter, Professor Juniper started the introductions. "Oh, I would like you all to meet Nurse Joy." The Pokémon Center nurse was a young woman in her early twenties. Nurse Joy was rather attractive, possessed fair skin, with swirly pink hair, she truly had the appearance of a normal nurse where she wore a pink dress. A white apron and a white beret complete with a red cross fitted snugly on top of her head.

Nurse Joy had been running herself ragged tending to everyone's needs.

Worn out or not, Nurse Joy still had a job to do. Pushing back a strand of pink hair, she happily greeted them. "Good afternoon welcome to the Acculuma Town Pokémon Center how can I be of assistance?"

Staring at Nurse Joy, Dante remained silent. All of the NEET websites he constantly trolled were always chalked full of rumors about how all Officer Jenny and Nurse Joys were cloned in Silph Co. in the Kanto region. The myth was that the Pokémon Association cloned the women in order to oversee everything in every region. Dante was a known sucker for conspiracies. Making matters worst, he thought it made no sense why all the nurses and police officers were exactly the same.

Pushing her apprentices up to close, Professor Juniper beamed. "Hello Nurse Joy these are my students Bianca and Dante they're eager young Pokémon trainers ready to learn. Roaming somewhere outside is Cheren he's the difficult one of the group."

Tilting her head sideways Nurse Joy stated. "I see...so is there anything I can help you with?"

Standing in awe, a huge grin smeared across Bianca's face. "Wow, its true. All Nurse Joys looked the same."

Leaning against the counter, Nurse Joy reacted as if she heard that line everyday. "I don't think we look exactly the same. Anyway, me and all of my cousins run the Pokémon Centers across Unova."

Peering at her Dante felt that had to be a blatant lie, right? He had never heard of someone's cousins looking exactly like them.

About to ask a questions about her mysterious origin, Dante heard increased banging noises. Peeking behind his back, he realized even more Timburr had appeared building on the odd stage. Walking toward the large windows, he pressed his face against the glass. "What's going on outside?! Is there some sort of concert happening?" How could they build so effortlessly the Timburr did not even have tools they just carried around squared logs.

"No, it seemed like someone with quite a lot of money paid off our town's mayor so they could host some kind of event," answered Nurse Joy, she really was not so sure about these people wanting to broadcast some message throughout Accumula Town. However, their mayor would probably sell his soul in order to raise campaign funds.

Looking back at the counter, Nurse Joy and Professor Juniper engaged in all sorts of girls talk. This made Dante feel like a third wheel. Slowly backing out of the Pokémon Center, he moaned. _"Um...Maybe I'll see what Cheren is up too?" _Scanning the room searching for Bianca, Dante saw her over at the PokéMart section shopping.

* * *

Returning outside Dante had realized that the stage the Timburr had built was already completed. Despite being so tiny Timburr were expert carpenters, they built the podium faster than any human possibly could. Maybe just maybe Pokémon were not useless, even Dante was in awe. _"Pokémon are amazing."_

Leaning against the Pokémon Center's wall, Cheren pointed over at the stage. "Dante check that out those Timburr built that stage in a second."

"What's going on Cheren?" shrieked Dante peering in his direction.

Pushing off the wall, Cheren made his way over to Dante sighing. "I'm not really sure I think those knights are about to make some sort of announcement."

"Oh yeah." Now that he mentioned it Dante did remember hearing something about a proclaimation.

From the stage loud noises echoed out being played by trumpets held by the squires. It was grand show truly something out of Medieval times. Dropping his trumpet to his the young Plasma Page stepped forward harking. "Hear ye! Hear ye! Gather around from a decree from a Seven Sage."

On the stage paced a man dressed in an elegant robe, the top of his robe resembled the crenelation of a fortified position such as a castle. Clearing his throat, he prepared to speak. "My name is Ghetsis I am just one of a mere seven sages. I am here representing Pokémon Liberation And Separation from Mankind's Atrocities or Team Plasma for short. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokémon liberation."

Standing behind Ghetsis on stage were two Plasma pages holding up the organization's Coat of Arms. They stood like statutes, not moving an inch.

In Dante estimation, Ghetsis was a truly a frightening person with long grey-green hair and piercing red eyes with a patch over the left one. The robe he wore was white with a cloak flowing over it which was two different colors. One side of his cloak was indigo purple with an ornate glowing yellow eye pattern with a violet-red iris. The other side of his cloak was yellow with a dazzling purple eye pattern with a crimson red iris. The crenelation around his neck was brown and encrusted with lovely sapphire jewels. In the middle of crenelation around Ghetsis' neck was the Plasma Coat of Arms.

_"Pokémon liberation?" _Dante wondered to himself.

Only children had circled around the stage. Curling his bottom lip ,they were not the ones Ghetsis wanted to hear his message. With the Plasma flags flapping behind him in the wind, Ghetsis outstretched his arm calling out. "The human race is a bacteria, that infects and destroys." Such a bizarre proclamation caught the attention of the rest of the travelers. More and more people gathered around the stage wondering what was going on.

Cheren said nothing, but he kept a fixated glance on Ghetsis. _"Hmmmmm..." _

Having the audience he needed Ghetsis began his speech. Placing a hand in front of his mouth, he coughed speaking a bit calmer. "I'm sorry for that outburst, but sadly it is true. I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and Pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. However... Is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans... only assume that this is the truth?"

A few confused expression covered all the trainers gathered around the stage. Nothing Ghetsis said made any sense. Still Cheren was not buying a word of it. Raising his hand, he gawked at the stranger inquiring. "I don't think any of that's true. If Pokémon didn't want to be around humans wouldn't they just leave? It's not like we could do anything to stop them."

Ghetsis appeared to be suffering from some injury as he leaned against his cane lumbering for Cheren. Every step he took looked as if it hurt immensely. Leaning down he made sure to make direct eye contact with him. "Are you sure about that? Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of Trainers... They get pushed around when they are our 'partners' at work... Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?"

Dante tried not listening, but something made him sympathetic to limping around the stage Ghetsis' way of getting pity because it was effective.

Trainers all around the town square began questioning themselves. Dante was no different kneeling besides Oshawott staring into the otter's eyes. "I know we're not really that tight, but at the same time I don't want to make you miserable." Remembering the Patrat that Professor Juniper had caught that was just minding its own business, Dante hung his head in shame. "If you want to leave I won't stop you."

"Osha! Wott! Osha!" answered Oshawott. Even if Dante was not his idea of a master, they were in this together.

"Oshawott's right. Don't listen to that noise Dante these people are sheep. I mean this guy came out of nowhere and listen to them just eat it up," snarked Cheren placing his hand on Dante's shoulder. Adjusting his glasses, he then spouted a clichéd line. "Listen to your Pokémon and your heart. They won't lead you wrong."

Still Ghetsis' conjoling had actually convinced a couple of trainers to liberate their Pokémon releasing them from their balls. The liberated Pokémon were not taking it well, instead they took it as some kind of betrayal. Why would their master's release them after all the hard work they put in. A few of the released Pokémon angrily traveled into the nearby forests.

Ghetsis had made such a spectacle of himself and much to Dante's surprise a bunch of people were buying it. Just what was so appealing about the sage. Dante looked back up at the stage and his eyes were drawn to Ghetsis' right arm. The sage's arm was shriveled, it appeared discolored, most likely burned by something. Never taken his eyes off the appendage, he asked. "W...what happened to your arm?!"

Feeling the young trainer's eyes on his arm, Ghetsis abruptly rolled down his sleeve hiding his deformed arm. For a split second an insane expression flashed on Ghetsis. Trying to shield his true nature, the veil was quickly raised. Letting out a hearty chuckle, he answered. "Ahahaha...That was just a bit of punishment I received by flying to close to the sun."

_"Um..." _Folding his arms Dante lowered his head, he had no clue what Ghetsis was talking about.

Slamming his cane against the floor Ghetsis took back control of the crowd. There was something alluring about Ghetsis' charisma when he started speaking it was impossible to turn away. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called Pokémon?"

Cheren just stewed in his rage. "..."

"Just think about how we enslave Pokémon. We chain and bind them in Pokéballs separating them from their families, we force them to fight for our amusement, and once they used up all their worth we cruelly trade them off like slave masters," grumbled Ghetsis staggering backwards about to fall. The Plasma Pages ran up onto the stage capturing Ghetsis as he finally succumbed to the pain.

As the Plasma Pages carried Ghetsis away he quipped. "That's right! We must liberate the Pokémon! Then, and only then, will humans and Pokémon truly be equals. Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokémon... and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention." Folding up their flags the Plasma Pages exited Accumula Town.

Though they were there for a few seconds Team Plasma and Ghetsis' words would have a lasting effect. Even Dante struggled thinking how to continue. "That was beyond weird."

Right behind him, Dante could hear a Pokéball being opened. Mitchel, an oversized man with blue eye that was wearing a black leather jacket that had an Accelgor emblazoned on the back, a pair of skin-tight black leather pants, and white sneakers. He was just one of many liberating his Pokémon. The rough neck was even larger than Bianca's father and Dante watched in amazement while sunlight gleamed off his cueball. Oddly enough Mitchel also lacked eyebrows, he was another terrifying indiviudual. "Come on out Joltik we need to talk."

At four inches tall, Joltik was tied with Flabébé as the smallest Pokémon in existence. It had four legs tipped with blue, conical feet. Its ovoid body was completely covered in yellow fur, with notable tufts sticking out on each side of its face, just over each eye, and its lower back. Joltik had four blue eyes. The two larger eyes were set relatively far apart on its face, containing black pupils. The two smaller simple eye were situated between the first pair, slightly higher up on its face. Joltik's mandibles pointed downward and resided at the bottom of its face, where they closely resembled tufts of hair.

A beefy biker like this with a cute little Joltik, it made no sense. However, the Attaching Pokémon greeted him all the same. "Joltik! Jolt!"

Bending over letting Joltik crawl on his hands, Mitchel held him up to eye level. "Listen Joltik I've been enlightened. Ghetsis and these Team Plasma people have opened my eyes in order to truly be one with Pokémon we must liberate them."

"Joltik?" chirped Joltik not really understanding.

Crushing Joltik's Pokéball in the palm of his hand, Mitchel smiled. "Yes, if I truly care about you I must release you from this bondage."

Obviously this was not sitting well with Joltik not after everything he went through with Mitchel. "Jolt!" Narrowing his four blue eyes, Joltik angrily released yellow bolts of lightning zapping his former master. Electricity flowed through Mitchel's body dropping him like a lead pipe. "Tik."

_"Geez...that was cold-blooded," _shuddered Cheren sucking air through his teeth. Looking down at Mitchel you could see his body twitching from the electricity and smoke wafted off his charred flesh.

Despite being such a tiny Pokémon, Joltik caused tremendous trouble. Screeching unbelievably loud Joltik absorbed tremendous amounts of electricity from the nearby street lights turning them off. Using his Pokédex, Dante learned about the tiny tick. _"Joltik, the Attaching Pokémon: Since it can't generate its own electricity, it sticks onto large-bodied Pokémon and absorbs static electricity. Type: Bug/Electric." _

"Hmmm...So its having a tantrum?" assumed Dante looking up from his Pokédex.

Adjusting his glasses Cheren made an observation. "At this rate it'll drain most of the town's power." Along the street multiple lightbulbs shattered from being overloaded by Joltik's frustrating cries. Shards of glass rained down chasing away a few of the trainers surrounding the stage.

After dropping his ex-trainer Joltik roamed around Acumula Town continued throwing the biggest tantrum ever. Dante eventually came into his purview and sparks of yellow electricity appeared in between Joltik's mandibles. Since Oshawott was never in its Pokéball, Joltik's jealousy boiled over. It then fired the stream of yellow electricity into the air. As it flew through the air, the tip opened up and expanded, forming into a large spider web of electricity.

The web attempted to open up and electrocute Dante. Cupping his mouth from the sidelines Cheren yelled. "Watch out Dante don't get hit by that Electroweb."

Stepping out in front of him, Oshawott took a deep breath spraying tons of water knocking away the webbing. The water from Oshawott's attack shorted out the webbing until it just fizzled weakly. A bright light flashed forcing Dante to shield his face. In absolute horror Dante shouted. "Ahhh...Joltik is out of control we have to do something."

Standing there with his hands in his pockets, Cheren had no inclination to help anyone yawning. "Nah, Joltik is way too small for my liking. You handle it." Just looking at Joltik it was incredibly tiny, how could he possibly train such a minisucle Pokémon.

Pointing at himself, Dante squeaked. "Me?! I...I can't handle it! Not only is Joltik a Pokémon, its a Bug-type." Thinking clearly he came up with a somewhat risky plan. Staring at the bottom of his sneakers, lifting up his foot he guessed. "Well it is small. I guess it'll be easy to just step on it."

Was it a good plan, not really; but Dante was desperate. Turning around expecting some feedback. Too bad he just barraged by dirty looks from Oshawott and Cheren. "What?!"

Since Cheren and Dante proved to be absolutely useless, Oshawott's chivalry would not let him leave a Pokémon suffer. "Wott! Oshawott!" Holding out his paw, he proceeded to tell them to step back and not get in his way.

Biting his fingernails Dante glanced back and forth between Mitchel and Oshawott. He did not want the little otter to get blasted like Joltik's former trainer. "W...What are you going to do Oshawott?! If you hadn't noticed Joltik is also an Electric-type. You are at a major disadvantage."

"Oshawott! Wott!" Wriggling his arms Oshawott explained that he only intended to talk with Joltik.

Shaking his head Cheren thought that Dante's Pokémon was over its head. _"Oshawott sure is something else with that haughty attitude."_

Making his way over Oshawott puffed out his chest attempting to have a little chat. "Osha!"

Joltik was not having any of it. Since the Attaching Pokémon was so small, it was no surprise that he was speedy. "Joltik! Jolt!" hissed Joltik forming an orb of yellow and orange electricity with yellow electric sparks around it in front of its mouth. It then fired the orb at Oshawott. The orb exploded when it hits the Otter Pokémon, which left behind yellow electric sparks in the dust and smoke.

_"I think that was Electro Ball?" _Dante mumbled.

Flying backwards Oshawott hit his back on the stone fountain at the town square. Gripping his scalchop Oshawott's entire body trembled tingling from electricity. If he hadn't protected himself with it, he could of got seriously injured. Glaring at Joltik, Dante seethed. "Hey what's your problem?! If you're mad just zap your owner he deserves it."

Tapping him on the shoulder, Cheren felt the need to point something out. "Uh...Dante techinically Joltik is a wild Pokémon that guy released him earlier." That was probably why Joltik attacked them, wild Pokémon were naturally jealous of trained ones. Joltik was especially agiated after getting releasing my Mitchel.

Clenching his Dante refused to just stand for this. While he still was not comfortable about any of this, he had to help Oshawott. Scanning his Pokédex for information, Dante steady himself taking a deep breath. "F...fine then. Oshawott use Water Gun." Returning the scalchop to his stomach, Oshawott sort of just turned around gawking at him from the fountain. "W...what don't stare at me! Just attack."

Leaping onto the fountain, Oshawott was on higher ground releasing streams of water that spiraled around as it fired at Joltik. Sweatdropping dramatically Dante sighed. "What kind of Water Gun was that?"

Rubbing its mandibles together Joltik attempted to summon another Electro Ball, but nothing apppeared. Cheren watched dumbfoundedly while Joltik tried and failed to generate electricity. "It must of used up all its juice. Its limit is just two Electric attacks?! How lame is that!"

Scratching his head, Dante furiously tried thinking of a move that could keep Joltik calm for awhile. Snapping his fingers he glanced down at Oshawott. "The Pokédex mentioned an attack called Razor Shell give that a shot."

"Osha!" yelped Oshawott running across the field grabbing the scalchop on its stomach as it started to glow brightly. A light blue aura also appeared around the scalchop as Oshawott swung it low towards the ground. While swiping like a madman, the aura around the scalchop stretches and hardened behind it, forming into an energy blade. "Wott!" Oshawott then leapt up slashing Joltik across the back with it.

Knocked clear across the field Joltik landed on its back not moving much. Even Dante felt that one. "Uh...maybe that was too much." He never wanted to hurt Joltik, he just wanted it to settle down a little.

Swiping the back of Dante's head, Cheren shrieked. "What're you doing?! Don't just stand there capture it."

"But I really don't wanna," squealed Dante he still had this thing about Bug Pokémon. Again fierce expressions from Oshawott and Cheren got him to move. Setting his backpack on the ground, he reached inside shuffling through all the crap looking for any Pokéballs. Finding a rather dusty one, he wiped it clean before tossing it in Joltik's direction. "P...Pokéball go."

The Pokéball spun through the air bouncing into Joltik ensnaring the Attaching Pokémon. Landing on the ground the Pokéball shook a couple of times before pinging informing him that Joltik was captured. Sticking his hands back into the knapsack Dante put on a pair of rubber yellow gloves picking up the Pokéball.

Now that Dante had captured Joltik well actually it was mostly due to Oshawott, but who cared. Checking his Pokédex, Dante gained access to additional information on his new Pokémon. _"Joltik attacks known: Screech, Bug Bite, Electroweb, and Electro Ball. Special Ability: Compound Eyes-Boosts the Pokémon's accuracy."_

Just gazing at the Pokéball, Dante was eriely silent. Did he really do the right thing? Would Joltik be happier if it were free to make his own choices. Ghetsis' words really weighed heavily on him. Rolling the Pokéball around in his hands, he really questioned himself.

Raising an eyebrow Cheren interrupted Dante's thoughts asking. "What's with the gloves?"

With everything calming down Dante took a deep breath. "Well, it's not like I'm going to touch it."

Since he captured a Pokémon that once belonged to someone else Dante felt like he had to apologize. Turning toward to where Mitchel had fallen, Dante was shocked to see him being loaded into an ambulance. "Oh man." Apparently the paralysis had not worn off, the paramedics needed to get him to the hospital before his systems set down. "I hope he'll be alright."

Putting his hands on his hips Oshawott snickered. "Oshawott! Wott!"

Crossing his arms, Cheren looked right at the Attaching Pokémon's Pokéball. "Still though I am curious what you could possibly do with a Joltik that's so limited."

Out of the crowd a voice echoed from behind them, apparently someone had watched them the entire time. Approaching them, the bizarre man opened his arms wide like he was about to embrace them. "Your Pokémon... Just now, it was saying..."

Turning around Dante and Cheren were shocked they assumed that Joltik's tantrum had chased of most of the tourists. Gawking up at the man who towered over them they exclaimed in unison. "What the heck?! Our Pokémon were talking."

Lowering his head, the brim of the young man's baseball cap shielded his face. A solidary tear rolled down his cheek. "Yes, they're talking. Oh. Then, you two can't hear it, either... How sad. My name is N."

* * *

**A/N: I borrowed the Team PLASMA acronym from Coli Chibi hopefully he doesn't mind. Useless trivia time: Acculuma Town is based off the Marine Park in New York. If you have some spare time go and read Coli Chibi's Pokémon Red and Blue: Tony's Journey. (hahaha...I know most of you already have) Also a special shout out to Cottonmouth25 he's been extremely helpfully. **

**Stay Tuned For Chapter Four N Search of the Ideals.**


	4. N Search of Ideals

**Previously on Unovian Chronicles: Entering Acculuma Town I learned how the city was created to maintain all the tourists making a trip from the Nuvema Airport. The town was over run by strange people wearing suits of armor like knights, maybe they were having a fair or something. Aurea continued giving us a tour of the town showing me and Bianca the Pokémon Center while Cheren waited outside. Seriously standing around Bianca, Nurse Joy, and Professor Juniper made me feel out-of-place, so I returned outside. Reuniting with Cheren, we were soon inundated with propoganda. A man calling his himself Ghetsis preached the gospel of Pokémon liberation. I had no clue what he was even talking about, but the trainers around us began releasing their Pokémon. After completing his lecture, Ghetsis shuffled away. A cue ball released his Joltik, but the tick was not taking it well. Joltik was out of control zapping his trainer and disrupting peace in Accumula. SInce Cheren refused to help, I was forced to battle and eventually catch Jolitk.**

* * *

**Unovian Chronicles**

**Entry Four **

**N Search of the Ideals**

A weary feeling had overcome Dante it was just one thing after another. He was really at his wit's end first Ghetsis' weird speech, then Mitchel, and now this guy. It could not possibly be a coincidence, could it. Oddly enough Dante did not get any nefarious vibes from this person. Staring up at him from the park bench, he stated. "Uh...N was it?! I'm Dante and this is Cheren. You mentioned that you could speak to Pokémon is that true?" Still if it were true Dante thought that it would be a pretty cool ability.

N showed no hesitation in approaching him, he appeared to be an incredibly social creature. He was pretty much dramatic gesturing with his hands every time he spoke. Glancing up in the air, N could feel fresh sunshine gleaming on his face. "Correct ever since I was a little boy I've always been around Pokémon. Sometime before I even realized it myself, I was able to conversate with Pokémon perhaps I already had that ability all along."

In the background a couple of Patrat chased each around the fountain playing loudly. "Wait your name's the letter N?" Cheren shouted. It appeared that Dante was forgetting something important. Where did this clown even come from in the first place.

Indeed N was a bizarre character, he wore a black and white baseball cap with his flowing long unruly tea green hair draped down his back. N wore a ruffled collared white shirt over a slightly longer black t-shirt, around his left wrist was a black band, on the right were some gold triangle bangles, and around his neck appeared to be a thin black necklace with a planet like jewel attached to it. N wore a pair of brown slacks and some green sneakers. The cube hanging from N's belt is a sliding puzzle similar to a Void Cube, and has been in his possession since childhood.

Dante felt pretty safe around N. In his opinion absolutely no animosity was in his passionate gray eyes. A mysterious aura filled the air as N made his way over even closer. Upon opening his mouth the boys realized just how fast N spoke. "Well actually my name is Natural Harmonia Gropius. I must admit the way you soothed Joltik's pain from earlier was very skilful. You understood that he was deeply wounded by the fact that this partner just abandoned him. Still I was sadden to see that you were forced to resort to using a Pokéball." When will people understand that they don't need to enslave Pokémon in order to establish a stronger connection.

His words were ominous, but since N looked like he knew what he was talking about Dante hung onto his every word. However, Cheren was much too brilliant to be pulled in by any of that nonsense. It struck him as odd that N would search them out in this enormous crowd. _"Pfft...that name's obviously fake." _Who exactly was this weirdo and what did he want from them?

If Dante could understand Oshawott maybe they would get along much better. "It's a shame I can't hear Pokémon, but its great that you can." It was a real struggle to bond with his Pokémon, Dante knew his fears were not all that rational. "Maybe it would be easier with Oshawott if I could."

Upon hearing that Cheren and Dante could not hear Pokémon's voices all the light faded from N's eyes. You could see his dream crashing and burning right before him, he had traveled far and wide across Unova in search of anyone that was just like him. It seemed that he had failed once again. _"Hmmm...I see."_

Usually Dante was nervous being around people he did not know, but N's ability intrigued him. Turning he motioned toward Oshawott he sat around the fountain staring at his reflection in the pool. "If you can really talk to Pokémon then have a chat with my Oshawott."

A gigantic smile spread across N's face he loved conversing with Pokémon. Drawing ever so closer to the fountain, N dropped to one knee making sure to stare Oshawott right in its eyes. N's friendly nature was off-putting forcing the Sea Otter Pokémon to take a couple steps backwards. Reaching out his hand, he spoke to the Pokémon. "Oshawott! Please tell me your honest opinions on your friend."

Thinking things over, Oshawott stood on his toes whispering something into N's ears. _"I see...but that can't possibly be true." _Dante and Cheren exchanged puzzled expression while Oshawott and N entered into a serious dialogue.

Returning to where the baffled boys were N had a bizarre expression on his face. Glancing down at Oshawott, Dante became insanely concerned. Just what did his Pokémon tell N, Dante had to know. Getting a little close to N this was the first time Dante realize the difference in their height. Seriously, he was dwarfed by N. "Um?! What did Oshawott say?"

Twiddling his thumbs, N rocked back and forth in his sneakers. His eyes scanning the grass, he really had no clue how to respond. No, he always sided with those pursing ideals. Dante deserved nothing, but honesty. "It seems that's he thinks you're kind of a...remember these are his words and not mine...a dick."

Dante's face turned beet red upon hearing Oshawott's opinion of him. While he knew he was not that easy to get along with, that assessment was painful indeed. "A dick?! Thanks for nothing Oshawott."

Could N speak to Pokémon maybe, but Oshawott's thoughts did not come to a surprise to Cheren. Removing his glasses, Cheren felt the need to make his thoughts known. He pointed out that Dante might of had this coming. "Well it is to be expected Dante. Of course Oshawott would feel that way since you're afraid of Pokémon and all."

Feeling as he just received an uppercut, N staggered about not believing his ears. Pokémon were perfect how could they strike fear into anyone. Possessing a bewildered expression, he ran up close to them. "Afraid of Pokémon?!"

Smacking his face, Dante felt embarrassment wash all over himself. N had just discovered his greatest shame in life. "I know its strange it's because I had a bad experience when I was younger. I...I tried getting over it, but..."

Rubbing his hands together, N knew there was no way he would let such an injustice slide. Reaching out his hands, N grasped Dante's shoulders tightly trying to instill confidence into him. "I see you're having trouble with Oshawott allow me to assist. I have this sort of sixth sense about Pokémon. Warrior types like Oshawott strength their bonds through combat and while I detest Pokémon battles I will do this help you two understand one another. Now come...Let me hear more of their voices!"

None of what N said made a lick of sense, but desperate to do anything to overcome his Pokémon phobia. Dante would of agreed to do anything. Still he had some reservations about this. He really did not see what having two Pokémon fight each other have to do with overcoming his fears. "A Pokémon battle between me and you?!"

"Yes," exclaimed taking a few steps back. Looking around his eyes searched the Accumula square in trying to find a Pokémon to do battle with. His scanned the playing Patrat, no they were too gentle; next were a bunch of Lillipup, but they were just babies; and lastly was a Purrloin standing upright on the side of a park bench, such a sophisticated Pokémon was perfect. "Excuse me Purrloin, but can I please beg for your assistance?"

The loitering Purrloin posed on the side of the park bench pretending to be so cool. Gawking up at N, the Devious Pokémon had no interest in whatever shenanigans he was up to. On the sidelines, Dante broke out into a cold sweat.

Waving its paw around Purrloin attempted to dismiss him. "Purr."

Removing his cap, N bowed towards Purrloin showing his upmost respect. "I understand that you feel that way. If you offer your assistance I promise to repay you in anyway you wish." This was a sight a human actually submitting to a Pokémon. Strutting pass N, Purrloin agreed to the stipulation walking onto the makeshift battleground in order to fight Oshawott.

_"Purrloin?" _Dante was in the midst of a breakdown, a cold shiver went down his spine, his face cracked, and his knees knocked together. _"W...why did it have to be Purrloin? It could been any Pokémon except Purrloin."_

Noticing his new friend's distorted face, N reached out toward him. "Are you alight?!"

"No!" Dante's fright had consumed his entire being. Wrapping both arms around his body, he struggled to stop shaking. _"P...Purrloin is the Pokémon I had a terrible experience with."_

N's primary objective was helping Dante getting along better with Oshawott. However, settling his fear with Purrloin was just magnificent. "I see...this is perfect then. The best way to face your fear is by facing your problems head on."

"What the heck?! How can you battle with a wild Pokémon?!" cried Cheren, in all his years of studying he had not heard about a trainer using a Pokémon that was not captured. In all the books Cheren read wild Pokémon attacked trainers because they were jealous of their trained counterparts.

"That's because Pokémon aren't possessions. They're my friends," N implored.

Dante's nervous tick aside, Cheren flipped open his Pokédex learning about the wild Pokémon that N commanded in battle. _"Purrloin, the Devious Pokémon: Purrloin fools people into letting their guard down so it can steal their possessions. When angered, it uses its claws to fight back. Type: Dark."_

Folding his 'dex, Cheren returned the device to his pocket. "No wonder you're afraid of that Pokémon. Purrloin is way too sneaky pretending to be cute just so it could get its way."

Even though Cheren was there, N had never really addressed him. However upon seeing his Pokédex, a gloomy expression appeared on his mug. Furrowing brow this had to be the first time Dante had saw N even look a bit angry. Sticking out an index finger N pointed at him. "The Pokédex, eh? So... You're going to confine many, many Pokémon in Pokéballs for that, then. While I'm a trainer, too, I can't help wondering... Are Pokémon really happy that way?"

Cheren's nose turned up at that, what kind of ridiculous question was that. "Well duh. It's the job of a trainer to catch as many Pokémon as possible and battle against the strongest opponents." Cheren's impression of N was not all that great, he got weird vibes from him. Still he was demanding an answer to an important question that he had. "I've never seen it any textbook, so how can you command a wild Pokémon like that?"

"Truly foolish child you understand nothing," N moaned giving up on convincing him. Shaking his head back and forth, Cheren was a lost cause. "Have even considered the ramifications of entrapping Pokémon inside those capsule. Don't you know that Pokéballs restrains a Pokémon's true power? That is why I refuse to use them."

In Dante's mind only more questions arose. _"How do you train Pokémon if you refuse to capture them?!" _

A slight groan echoed from Cheren, he did not get the answer he seeked. N's incessant babbling annoyed him. It was like talking to a brick wall with that guy. _"I wanted to be the first trainer that battled Dante, but it doesn't really matter I can learn from this,"_ he mumbled watching from the sidelines. Pokémon trainers came in all shapes and size, Cheren wanted to see what sort of prowess N possessed.

In order to get a good view, so he could watch the Pokémon's every move. Cheren realized that Sitting back on one of the park benches, he reached into the holster around his waist removing a Pokéball from a clip. Clicking the button in the middle he enlarged the Pokéball releasing Snivy from inside. "Hmm...not only can I learn from this, but it'll be a perfect chance to fine tune Snivy."

Opening up his Pokéball, Cheren released Snivy into the park. Stretching out the Grass Snake Pokémon happily greeted the sunlight capturing the rays on his tail. "Snivy! Sni!"

Placing his hand on Snivy's head, Cheren pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Now Snivy I want to watch this battle carefully. Eventually Dante will become one of our greatest opponents and we'll need to figure out his battling style."

Leaning forward Snivy never took his eyes off Dante just unnerving him even more than he already was. "Ivy! Snivy!" From everything that they had been Snivy had come to respect Cheren immensely, it would most likely listen to anything he said. To Snivy everything was just so cool about Cheren he never lost his cool, got rattled, and his glasses were so suave.

Sweat poured down Dante's face as his shirt became drenched. "C...could you please not do that?"

A new Pokémon had appeared causing N to immediately forget about Dante and Oshawott. Rushing over at break neck speed N circled around Snivy swooning over it. How could such a regal creature stand being around a nonbeliever like Cheren. "Ooooooooooh...Speak to me Snivy. What kind of person is your partner?"

Looking away from him, Snivy held its head up high. "Snivy! Snivy! Sni!" No matter how much N tried to ensure eye contact Snivy would look in the opposite direction.

"What do you mean refrain from speaking to you?!" Dropping to his knees, N clenched his chest it was like his heart was being ripped from his chest. Every time he peered in Snivy's general direction, he was met with a cold shoulder. In his frustration N dug his fingers into the soil pulling up clumps of dirt. "Whyyyyyy?"

Tapping his feet impatiently Dante actually found himself getting angry. "Um...Hey weren't you supposed to be helping me and Oshawott?!" The Sea Otter Pokémon copied Dante by also tapping his feet.

Coming to his sense N's tilted towards the peeved looks he received from Dante and Oshawott. Getting up from his knees, he gently patted the dust off his pant legs chuckling. "Yes, yes, yes. Where are my manners?! In order to apologize I will allow you the privilege of first attack."

Thinking about all the stuff he learned from Professor Juniper and Cheren, Dante remembered that a Pokémon looks to its trainer for confidence. Just catching glimpses of Purrloin was enough to rattle him, however he refused to let that affect his commanding of Oshawott. That being said he had no clue how to begin, should he focus on offense or defense. "Um...okay. Oshawott try Tackle."

N never took his eyes off Oshawott hustling across the field it looked so adorable trying to use Tackle, it was a shame that he would need to stop him. Standing with his arms wide open N basked in the sun. "Purrloin if you would stop Oshawott in his tracks with Fake Out!"

Looking back at N, even Purrloin thought he was strange. Still a deal was a deal prompting him to leap into action. "Purrrr..." meowed the Devious Pokémon running up to Oshawott. Angling its body in front of Oshawott clapping its paws together. When it clapped, a large shockwave of air comes out of them pushing the Sea Otter Pokémon backwards knocking him into a trash bin.

Folding his arms Cheren imparted some wisdom on his Pokémon. "Did you see that Snivy? N baited Dante to attacking first he knew Purrloin had Fake Out. It's a priority attack that always goes first and makes your opponents flinch."

Struggling from a top the trash bin, Oshawott managed to stand up. Drawing his scalchop, he brandished it in N and Purrloin's direction barking. "Osha! Osha! Oshawott!"

"Is that the best we got?! That's quite presumptuous Oshawott," N chuckled impressed by his scrappy little heart.

How could N be so calm at a time like this, Dante was a nervous wreck. Instead of Dante giving Oshawott confidence it was the other way around. "T...that's the spirit Oshawott." Engaging in battle Dante tried forgetting all about his fear of Pokémon, his only thoughts were on helping Oshawott win. Fighting through his anxiety, he ordered. "Okay let's give Water Gun a whirl."

Leaping off the trash bin, Oshawott took a deep breath blasting Purrloin with a stream of water forcing the kitten back into a pile of leaves. "Osha!"

"Purrrrr..." hissed Purrloin completely drenched with some bristles stuck in it's matted fur.

Witnessing the perturbed gaze on Purrloin's face, N realized that he needed this moment to help it relax. Holding out his arms N gave his Devious Pokémon the next command. "This maneuver should give you time to sort out your fur. Sand-Attack if you please." Running across the field, Purrloin grabbed a paw full of sand throwing into Oshawott's face obstructing the other's view. Oshawott flailed around the park trying effortlessly to wipe the dirt from his stinging eyes.

Holding out his hand Dante attempted to counsel his Pokémon. "C...calm down Oshawott if you panic you'll just make it worse." His pleas felt on deaf ears, Oshawott ran around freaking out. The sand thrown in its face burned his eyes.

Shaking vigorously Purrloin shook the excess water from its fur. No matter how evil Purrlion were they were still cats. N appeared focused on gaining on Dante's mistakes. "Now Purrloin if you kindly perform Fury Swipes."

Diving towards Oshawott, Purrloin slashed him with its glowing claws twice. "Purrrrr!"

Purrloin brutally raked Oshawott across the face with its paws leaving claw marks. A lump formed in the back of Dante's throat. Oshawott needed him, but what to do. "Um...I have to do something. Uh...I know Oshawott use Razor Shell."

"Osha!" cried Oshawott still blinded grabbing the scalchop on its stomach causing it started to glow brightly. A light blue aura also appeared around the scalchop as Oshawott swung it up high towards the Devious Pokémon's head. While swiping like a madman, the aura around the scalchop stretches and hardened behind it, forming into an energy blade. "Oshawott!" screamed Oshawott then leaping towards Purrloin trying to slash it with his scalchop. The Razor Shell missed badly while tears welled under Oshawott's eyes. Truth be told he could not even see Purrloin everything was just black blobs.

Cheren's glasses reflected in the sunlight, his eyes were not even visible. Whenever he got this look Dante always knew it was bad news. It it was true Cheren had come to a grim assessment of Dante's battle. "This N character is something else Snivy. He used Sand-Attack to dramatically reduce Oshawott's accuracy. Not a bad strategy if I say so myself." Folding his arms, Snivy mimicked Cheren as if he knew the outcome of the battle as well. "I can already see the ending."

Moving over to the fountain Oshawott splashed some cold refreshing water on his face. Blinking wild he was finally free of the grain of sand in his eyes. "Osha?!"

The constant narrating in the background was driving him insane. "Who asked for your opinion Cheren?!" screeched Dante with veins appearing all in on his forehead. "I...I know Oshawott can do it."

There was no way that Dante was about to quit, he believed in Oshawott with all his might. "Now that you can see Oshawott use Razor Shell." Drawing his scalchop, Oshawott moved away from the fountain rushing at Purrloin despite being obviously exhausted.

N was completely aware of Oshawott's condition. "We must end this quickly in order not to harm Oshawott any further. End this battle with Night Slash!"

"Purrloin," hissed Purrloin its claws turning a whitish purple. The difference in their battling experience was evident.

With the aura around the scalchop forming into an energy blade, a head on collision between Oshawott and Purrloin was the only possible outcome. Oshawott's scalchop smashed against Purrloin's claws, but it appeared that the Devious Pokémon was just a bit stronger. A sinister grin flashed across Purrloin's muzzle pulling his left claw down he raked Oshawott across his entire body with Night Slash. Letting go off Oshawott, Purrloin sent him careening into the stone fountain. Smashing into the bird bath water sprayed all over the unconscious Sea Otter Pokémon.

The floodgates had opened N began weeping like a baby. N's eyes were puffy red he had cried, so heavily like he was the one that was battling. "That is enough. I can't take it much longer."

Cheren would never understand N. _"Why is he crying? He's the one who won."_

Deep in his heart Dante knew that most likely he was going to lose. Every time something went wrong in Nuvema Town it probably happened to him. Dropping to his knees he crawled toward the fountain that Oshawott landed in. Pulling him from the water and propping the Sea Otter Pokémon's head in his lap, Dante searched making sure he was alright. The last thing he wanted to do was involve his Pokémon in his downward spiral. "I am so sorry Oshawott this is all my fault. I let you down."

Holding Purrloin in his arms, N stroked the Devious Pokémon's back with his hands. Seeing Dante interact with Oshawott brought a smile to N's face. "Hmm...It appears your fear has subsided."

A jolt shook Dante's entire system during this time, he had not even considered his fear of Pokémon. The only thing that concerned him was Oshawott, Dante would never forgive himself if the Sea Otter Pokémon got wounded because of him. "Huh? I...I guess you're right. Thank you I think I can understand Oshawott a little better now."

Scratching Purrloin behind its ears, N warmly praised him."You're welcome. The world would be a much better place if there were people like you around." N found Dante's personality refreshing, he appeared considerate of a Pokémon's feelings.

Finally sitting up on Dante's lap, Oshawott was grateful for everything N did for them. Just like Dante Pokémon, Oshawott needed to"Oshawott! Osha!"

"I'm glad you feel that way too, Oshawott. I sense great things in your future." Cutting Cheren with his eyes, N then murmured under his breath. _"Still as long as Pokémon are confined in Pokéballs... Pokémon will never become perfect beings. I have to change the world for Pokémon, because they're my friends."_

Purrloin loudly purred in N's arms trying to get his attention. Looking down at it, N let out an exhausted chuckle. "Sure I remember my end of the bargin. I'll buy you all the catnip your heart desires."

Watching N take off with Purrloin in his arms, Cheren was forced to admit something aloud. "Despite him being such a nutjob that guy is good. If he wasn't such a weirdo I would probably have to worry about him."

* * *

From behind them Cheren and Dante heard the automated doors of the Pokémon Center. Stepping out into the Accumula Town air from their cheery conversation it seemed that Professor Juniper and Bianca had missed all the action. Exasperated looks appeared on the boys faces. How could they miss Team Plasma's big presentation and Dante's battle against the enigmatic Pokémon trainer N. Looking furious Cheren clenched his fists exploding. "Errrmmm...Professor what the heck were you doing?! You didn't see anything of that."

Feeling Cheren's rage heading her way, Professor Juniper approached him trying to get him to relax. "Calm down Cheren. Didn't see any of what?!"

Waving his arms around dramatically Dante struggled explaining the so many bizarre things had happened to them. If Dante had not been there, he would of never believed it. "Listen professor you remember those knights we met earlier, right? Well apparently they all belonged to this organization called Team Plasma, they were talking about Pokémon liberation. Something about separating humans from Pokémon. I really did not make sense, but people actually believed it releasing their Pokémon."

Standing behind Professor Juniper, Bianca leaned out peering at them inquiring. Such a wondrous tale, but could it actually be true. "Pokémon liberation?!"

It amazed Cheren just how clueless Bianca and Professor Juniper were. "Yeah, they were spewing some major propoganda. Things were about to get bad before Dante caught that Joltik lurking around causing trouble."

The Pokémon liberation radicals aside, Professor Juniper was ecstatic to learn that Dante was the that captured Joltik. "Ahhh...You caught a Pokémon?! I was really worried about you Dante, but I see it was all for not. Adhan insisted that you become a trainer, but your attitude towards Pokémon always concerned me. I wanted to wait until you grew out of it, but before I knew it you were fourteen years old. Four years older than normal beginner trainers."

_"Um...Sorry," _exhaled Dante feeling a bit crowded.

This story came as a complete surprise to Cheren his mouth hung wide open. Even little children were ahead of Cheren. All his plans were put on hold for some coward, he would not stand for it. "I get that Dante was too scared for a Starter Pokémon and Bianca's father was a serious no go, but why me?!"

Wagging her finger in his face, Professor Juniper refused to budge an inch on this. "Because a real professor selects three trainers to hand out the Starter Pokémon to. Professors Oak, Rowan, Birch, Sycamore, and even Elm did that. I refuse to let them be better than me." Dante, Bianca, and Cheren were her shot at being like the other regional professors."I'll shut Elm up always bragging about Jimmy, Vincent, and Marina."

"I hope we make you proud professor," giggled Bianca.

Nodding in approval Professor Juniper had no worries about the three trainers she chose to be her assistants. Holding Bianca's hand, Aurea gazed longingly into her eyes grinning. "Of course I have complete faith in you guys. I know you're all good kids. The Pokémon League is blessed to have you three competing within it."

"The Pokémon League?" solicited Bianca.

How could Bianca call herself a trainer and not know these things. If Cheren was not so conceited he would of gotten tired of explaining everything. "Darnit Bianca, the Pokémon League is the governing body that handles legislation regarding Pokémon. The League is apparently the group that pays the salary of Gym Leaders, selects them, and organizes Pokémon League competitions across the nation. They are also responsible for drawing up and often enforcing laws regarding Pokémon, and general competition between Pokémon trainers. They are the creators of the different types of battling, such as the Double Battle. Some of the laws created by the League include the famous rule which states a Trainer can only carry six Pokémon with them at a time."

"Whoa..." echoed Dante. He knew the Pokémon League was strong, but who knew they had that much power.

"The Pokémon League is lead by the region's champion and the Elite Four acts as their subordinates," Professor Juniper added in for good effect.

Now that she had mentioned Dante did not recall ever hearing about a President, Congress, or a Judiciary Branch; for that matter anyone in charge of making the laws of Unova. In his opinion that was quite horrifying what would happen, if some sociopath actually defeated Alder then all of Unova would be at the mercy of this deranged megalomaniac. Now the Pokémon League took precautions in order to make sure this never happens, by making a trainer battle against the Elite Four before squaring off with the Champion. To Dante this had to be the stupidest idea ever why the heck would you choose the leader of your country that way to many unforeseen variables laid in the way. Reflecting on everything Alder was more like a king than a President. Dante had the habit of over thinking things looking Oshawott saw a confused expression on his face.

It was a bit scary to think that being a great Pokémon trainer would validate your entire self-worth. If someone had good ideas to improve the region, they would also have to be great trainers. It seemed truly tragic.

Dusting off her hands, Professor Juniper could see the sun starting to lower in the background. "Okay, let's wrap this up. I've given you the basics of being a Trainer! I'm going to head back to Nuvema Town." Turning away from them, Aurea proceeded to leave Accumula Town. Stopping at the town's gate, she turned stating. "Oh one more thing... When you get to Striaton City, go and meet an inventor named Fennel. She's a friend of mine from long ago we attended the same Pokémon University in Celadon City, and I'm sure she'll help you out! There's a gym in Striaton too."

Professor Juniper was not going to drop that terrifying news on Dante and just split, was she? What the heck was that. "Wait a minute. You're leaving?! I had more questions about the Pokémon League!"

"Yes, I was only supposed to give you a tour. I've already spent enough time from the laboratory," Professor Juniper remarked

After Professor Juniper vanished from Accumula Town, Dante nervously chewed on his fingernails. "W...what she's leaving us all by ourselves?! Who knows what kind of Pokémon would want to take a bite out of me?"

After everything that they had been through during the day, Dante immediately reverted back to his normal behavior patterns. Perhaps the saying was true old habits died hard. Cheren just stared at him, he expected as much. "I...I thought you got over your Pokémon fear. I guess not."

Roughing it outdoors under the stars didn't sound all that bad to Bianca, her puffy red cheeks glimmered in the evening air. "Is it true?! Will we be camping outside?"

"That's a ridiculous question Bianca. We're not Pokémon." Shifting his focus, Cheren then glanced at the Pokémon Center. "We'll stay here for the night and set out in the morning. Don't listen to Dante he'll just freak you out. Besides we're totally safe we have our Pokémon to protect us." Without another word Cheren entered the Pokémon Center leaving Bianca and Dante standing there. Even if he did not mean it, Cheren had this way about him that he could make Dante feel horrible about anything. "Come Snivy we need to go over strategy we can use Dante's lost as excellent practice."

Taking a look back at the Accumula Town before entering the Pokémon Center, Bianca swooned. "Ahhh...I thought it would be cool to sleep under the stars with Tepig." Unlike the two boys she traveled with Bianca already had her sleeping bag ready. "Maybe next time."

Dante on the other hand never once had thoughts of sleeping outside he could not stand the thought of be inconvenienced even for a minute. _"I wonder what kind of rooms the Pokémon Center has I can never sleep comfortable in a bed that's not mine." _Something else gave him the chills also, how often were the center's room cleaned. Just sleeping in a bed other people have slept in made his flesh crawled. Maybe, just maybe camping was not such a bad idea at all.

Oshawott glanced up at his wishy-washy trainer shaking its head. "Wott."

* * *

**A/N: Read and review please. Stay tuned for Chapter Five Striaton Blues.**


	5. Striaton Blues

**Previously on Unovian Chronicles: Just a few seconds after I had captured Joltik a bizarre thin man approached me. I was a bit taken aback when he claimed he could talk to Pokémon, I mean come on. Even stranger was his name, it was Natural. Who even names their kid something like that? Anyway he told me to call him N. He displayed really weird behavior trying to talk to Oshawott and Snivy. N then challenged me to a battle using a Purrloin, oh why did it have to be that Pokémon? I tried my best battling, however I was clearly outmatched. In the end I lost the battle, but I saw that coming from miles away. N attempted to give me words of encouragement, but honestly he was wasting his breath.**

**A/N: To my peeps in the states. Happy Fourth of July. Enjoy the BBQ and fireworks folks.**

**Unovian Chronicles**

**Entry Five **

**Striaton Blues**

Entering the Acculuma Pokémon Center, Cheren led Dante and Bianca over to a rounded table that was pretty far from the other trainers. For once the center's activity seemed to be winding down, trainers having Pokémon battles were not that active during the night. Stopping at the table Dante pulled out a chair for Bianca to sit down and he then took his seats. Both looked up at Cheren who remained standing he had something important to tell them. Placing a hand over his mouth, he lightly coughed. "Ahem...as you two know we're officially Pokémon trainers meaning that things are going to be different between us." Uh oh...Dante knew where this was heading and he definitely was not going to like.

Tentatively raising her hand, Bianca could not imagine her life without Cheren or Dante prompting her to meekishly ask. "Um...Do you mean we can't be friends anymore?!"

Attempting to once again regain control of the conversation, Cheren loomed over them like a teacher. "Yeah, we'll always be friends Bianca. What I'm talking about is how we will have to battle each other in a struggle for supremacy."

"Huh?" Bianca drawed a blank.

Rolling his eyes, Dante leaned back in his chair sighing. "I think he's talking about us being rivals." Why was Cheren beating around the bush. It just was not like him.

Pointing at Dante, Cheren signaled that his timid friend was correct. "Yes we'll be rivals. Just think about it Professor Juniper has placed her trust in the three of us and I'm sure one of us will rise to the top," chuckled Cheren pushing his glasses up his nose. Holding out his left arm he motioned for the two trainers gawking at him. "Of course that will be me, but I am going to need some tough rivals to help me raise up the ladder." Now they were getting to heart of the matter, beyond all of his sweet words Cheren was really talking about himself.

Shifting forward in his seat, Dante ran his fingers across the table. "You and Bianca can knock yourselves out battling your brains out, but leave me out of it. I'm no Pokémon trainer." Dante had to finally put his foot down. It was bad enough that he was jerked around by his friends into leaving Nuvema Town, enough was enough.

"But..." eeked Cheren. How could Dante be so shortsighted? Did he not see his role in helping Cheren climb the mountaintops.

Cheren was beginning to make him sick to his stomach, Dante barked while slamming his hands against the table. "Don't but me. You just want someone to squash while you win gym battles. Good luck with that." He was not going to be anyone's puppet.

Holding out her arms Bianca separated the boys, she felt trapped between her best friends. "Please guys don't fight."

Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a brochure that he found outside placing it on the table. Unlike Cheren, Dante would rather be invisible than famous. The thought of thousands of people staring at him, frightened him. "I'm not going to be doing any scary battling. Instead I'll be visiting Unova's various landmarks like the Elemental Monkey in Striaton City."

It was maddening watching Cheren throw a temper tantrum like a five year old. "I can't believe you. Oshawott and Joltik deserve better than you," he pouted flopping into his chair. Cheren was always a bother when things did not go his way.

Turning away from Cheren, Dante crossed his arms sulking. "I can't believe you either, jerk."

_"Um...Do something Bianca...think." _Bianca racked her mind she knew that things could not continue like this.

Bianca felt that both boys made good arguments; Cheren wanted to test his strength through Pokémon battles and there was nothing wrong with that, but Dante was only interested in sightseeing and there was nothing wrong with that, either. Bianca found herself caught in the middle she wanted to train Pokémon too, but visiting different places sounded fun also.

"Maybe we can come to some sort of agreement. I think we can do all those things." Dante and Cheren were not budging from their positions. So many thoughts flooded through Bianca's mind that her eyes rolled back in her head. Face-planting right on the table with smoke billowing out her ears. "Oooooh..."

Witnessing Bianca drooling on the table, Dante leapt into action. "B...Bianca?! Are you alright?! Speak to me." Running to her side, Dante pulled back Bianca back in her chair holding out his hand checking Bianca's forehead seeing if she had a fever. Bianca did not seem to have a fever, so Dante grabbed her shoulders shaking her vigorously. "Wake up! This isn't funny."

"Whoa...I guess all that thinking shorted out Bianca," Cheren snorted, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose.

Holding Bianca's head in his arms, Dante turned glaring at him. Cheren could feel the icy stare heading right for him. "What?!"

Making his way over to Bianca, he tried calming Dante down. "Okay...okay I get it Dante. Don't glare at me like that. Bianca will be fine after a goodnight's rest."

Bending over he lifted Bianca up out of her chair, Cheren's face distorted she was a lot heavier than he thought. "Ughhhh..." Pushing the pain from his mind he started up the stairs. "C...come on let's find a room."

Dante stood there watching mystified how come he did not think of that. Hearing Cheren's voice shook him out of his fog. "Oh...alright." Moving towards Bianca's legs, Dante grabbed her feet helping Cheren up the stairs towards the rooms. "Okay let's go."

Breathing heavily, Dante puffed out his cheeks. _"Whew...Bianca is freaking heavy! How much does she weigh?!"_ Trying not to drop, Dante angled Cheren for the closest room.

Kicking the door open, Cheren and Dante walked sideways making sure not to bump into the door. The bedroom they chose was rather small it had a table with a lamp, one twin size mattress and a bunk bed. What kind of room did not even have a television? Just taking a peek at Cheren, Dante knew better than to claim the lone twin bed. Even though the room was modest, they would have to make due. The room only possessed two windows against the walls. The room left a sour taste in Dante's mouth, perhaps he was not grateful for anything. _"Man I miss my room? Heck I even miss Purrloin."_

Not giving Dante a chance to claim it, Cheren climbed the ladder taking ownership of the top bunk. "We might as well get some rest too. I'm planning on heading to Striaton City in the morning, it isn't that far from here."

_"Whatever..." _Dante scoffed flopping on the bottom bunk. Reaching for the alarm clock on the table next to his bed, Dante set it to eight o'clock am. After their long day, he was pretty exhausted. Before he noticed it, he was fast asleep.

A Pidove sat outside Dante's windowsill squawking loudly welcoming the next day. Annoyed by the bird's song Dante woke up inside his Pokémon Center room. Groggily reaching for the Hoothoot alarm clock on the desk, he could only imagine how early in the morning it was. "Ahhh...What time is it?"

Upon realizing that it was already noon, Dante's eyeballs peeled back and internally he was fighting back a scream. One could see the horror in his face. "H...how can it be midday already?! How'd I oversleep? I set the alarm before I went to bed last night." Even though he claimed not to be comfortable in a bed that was not his, he had slept like a baby.

Dante's thoughts went to how he let down his friends, but peering over at their beds he realized that Bianca and Cheren had already left. A mixture of betrayal and hurt shifted Dante's mood; how could his friends just leave him like that. "Those jerks." Cheren was bad enough, but even Bianca abandoned him. Especially after he went to all of the trouble of convincing her father, Anthony.

Losing his patience Dante heaved the alarm clock shot putting it towards the wall. _"Oops," _yelped Dante immediately regretting it a few seconds after throwing the clock. As soon as the alarm shattered against the wall, Dante noticed that for some reason it lacked batteries. Crawling onto the edge of his bed, he checked the back of the clock. "What the heck is going on?!"

It made no sense where did the batteries go. Spinning his head around the bedroom, Dante heard noises from across the room. Looking in that direction, he witnessed Oshawott trying to pull a pair of batteries from Joltik's mouth across the room. He did not have time for their nonsense, Dante had to figure out where his friends went. "What are you two doing?"

"Osha?! Oshawott!" Oshawott screeched blaming Joltik for the delay.

Dropping the drained batteries from its mouth, tears followed from Joltik's eyes. Crawling onto the bed Joltik scrambled towards him trying to apologize for sucking the life from the batteries. So, it was Joltik's fault that Dante overslept. In the Attaching Pokémon's mind he would do anything not to be released again. "Joltik! Jolt!" Honestly, Dante was not even mad. He did not blame Joltik, he was furious at Cheren for abandoning him.

In the corner of his eye, the Attaching Pokémon drew closer and closer. "Wait a minute! S...stay over there." Falling out of his bed trying to get away from Joltik, Dante landed face first on the floor. "Gah!" Trapped in the bed sheet, Dante's upper body was bound while exposing his white briefs catching disgusted glances from Oshawott. While Dante had gotten used to Oshawott, he still appeared to be terrified of Joltik shivering mightily.

Dante might of just woken up, but at the same time Oshawott had gotten pretty tired of looking at him gallivanting around the room in his briefs. Scrunching up his face, the Sea Otter Pokémon was horrified. "Osha!"

Oshawott must not have had a sense of fashion, Dante's briefs were awesome. Wriggling free of the sheet, he had to let Oshawott know. "What's wrong with my undies?! My mom said they were fashionable!" Dante snarked with his hand on his hips. Stopping for a second he started blinking wildly, what was he thinking he did not have time to explain himself to a Pokémon. Not if he had hoped to catch up with Bianca and Cheren anytime soon. Quickly putting on his pants, Dante knew that his focus needed to be catching up with his friends.

Straightening up the room the best way he could, Dante turned tossing his backpack over his shoulder. "Hurry, hurry, hurry!" chanted he feverishly rushing out the room forgetting all about Oshawott and Joltik. Running down the stairs, Dante was in such a rush that he lost his balance on the steps tumbling down, just like when was back at home. "Whoa..." Smacking against a couple of walls he ended up on his backside.

An eerie silence followed over the bedroom. "Osha?!" Oshawott exclaimed surprised that Dante would just leave them like that.

_"Jolt...Tik," _whined Joltik tears rolling down its cheek. The Attaching Pokémon's tiny body trembled all over it was so worried. What if Dante was still mad about the batteries, mad enough to have abandoned it and Oshawott.

"Wott," Oshawott sighed waddling over tapping Joltik's head. In its Pokéspeech the Sea Otter Pokémon explained that Dante would never abandon them. It justified that way of thinking based on how Dante was afraid of Pokémon, but he had not once just tossed them aside even after Ghetsis' proclamation.

"Joltik! Jolt! Joltik." In its exuberance Joltik inadvertently released electricity shocking Oshawott.

"Ugh..." As a hobbled Dante limped back into the room he gripped the entrance's walls attempting to keep his bearings. Every breath he took hurt a little I guess tumbling head over feet was indeed painful. Peering his head through the door he witnessed Oshawott topple off the bed twitching dramatically.

"Where are you guys? Why didn't you follow me?" For some reason Dante was rather steamed upon seeing them. Slinking into the room, he dragged himself over to the desk sitting down in the chair tapping his fingers against the counter. "Hey I fall down a flight of stairs and you guys are up here playing around."

Plopping his backpack to the floor, Dante slipped on his rubber gloves taking a deep breath. In the palms of his gloved hands he held the Attaching Pokémon's Pokéball. "Okay Joltik return." Even at times like this his aversion to Bug Pokémon would not subside. Rummaging through his backpack he pulled out another Pokéball. "Alright Oshawott you take a break as well."

A red beam of light shot out from the Pokéball pulling Oshawott in like a tractor beam. Grabbing the sides of the bed, Oshawott pulled the blankets off the mattress it appeared not to be a fan of going inside its Pokéball. _"Oshawott!"_

Dropping both Pokéballs into his backpack, Dante made another attempt of leaving the Pokémon Center. Slowly heading back down stairs he paid extra care not to fall down them this time. Sliding his hands down the guardrails, he eventually reached the center's common area which still appeared to be packed to the brim with Pokémon and trainers. All of N's teachings most of been for naught Dante entered full blown panic mode. _"Was there this many Pokémon yesterday?"_

Looking around the room he watched one trainer eat off the same ice cream cone as a Lillipup, another trainer sat at a table reading a book with a Trubbish in her lap, and Purrloin getting brushed with a trainer's own hairbrush. _"Yeck...talk about gross." _Hugging the sides of the walls, Dante sucked in his gut and stepped cautiously trying not to make contact with any Pokémon.

Seeing a young man strife against the wall was a strange sight capturing the forever busy Nurse Joy's attention. Waving towards him, Nurse Joy drawed him closer. "Excuse me, but are you Dante Masters?!" In the background Audino ran back and forth helping trying trainers. Crashing into a wall, the Hearing Pokémon dropped in a heap.

Dante's eyes bucked out as he slowly approached the desk. Going over everything that happened, he tried remembering if something was amiss. _"Um...yes. Am I in trouble or something?!" _It did not matter who it was Dante always avoided confrontation.

Waving her hand Nurse Joy let out a hearty chuckle. "Oh no...I was just caught off guard by your antics. I'm afraid your friend Cheren described you perfectly. He said that he was friends with a trainer that happened to be afraid of Pokémon. It was so preposterous that I didn't believe him, but you actually exist."

_"Harharharhar...Can I go now?" _Dante laughed dryly full of sarcasm. He was in no mood for her teasing him.

Slapping her hand against the counter, Nurse Joy fought back tears. She could tell her playful ribbing did not rub Dante the right way. Wiping away a tear, she chuckled. "I...I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you. Cheren and a girl named Bianca left a little while ago, but they asked me to keep your Unova License."

Raising an eyebrow, Dante had no clue what she was talking about. "Unova License?"

Now that things appeared to get back on track, Nurse Joy reached under the desk taking out a box full of supplies. "Oh yes the Unova License it was documents you as a professional Pokémon trainer." Out of the box, Nurse Joy pulled out a tiny card with Dante's profile on it. "With this you can enter and compete in any Pokémon facility."

After Dante held the ID, Nurse Joy explained the rest of the box's content. "Along with the Unova Licence I have a couple more things that every trainer receives first is your official Unova region. Here's a Guide Book it'll give you information various locals, a Badge Case that hold all your badges, and your very own Xtransceiver, it is a powerful communication tool, and allows the user to contact other Trainers."

Fumbling with the blue wristwatch-like device, Dante strapped in on his arm. Admiring the Xtransceiver in his possession, he gawked wildly at her. "Man this Xtransceiver is awesome. Wait... aren't those things incredibly expensive?!"

"Yes, but the Pokémon League spares no expense when it comes to trainers," Nurse Joy giggled wiggling her finger.

"There you go Dante Masters welcome to the Unova League." Getting serious for once, Nurse Joy placed her hands on the table leaning forward. "I feel its my job to inform you that all trainers entering the Unova League are to seek their first badge in Striaton City."

Dumping the box's content into his backpack, Dante looked over at her scrunching up his face. "Wha...Is it that important?!" Who cared which gym a trainer went challenged first.

"Yes, the Pokémon League has decreed that a gym leaders' Pokémon are decided by how many badges an opposing trainers has. For instance when you venture to Nacrene City, the gym leader Lenora will use a different set of Pokémon depending on what badges you possess. However, only the Striaton Gym is the only one allowed to battle trainers without badges," Nurse Joy announced standing up in her chair. Her voice boomed through the center.

Geez...the Pokémon League had all these rules giving Dante a migrane. _"I get it."_

Calming down settling back in her seat, Nurse Joy tapping her chin recalling something. "Actually, I think that's where your two friends said they were heading."

Banging his fist against the table. How could Dante forget that. "Oh yeah, Cheren did say he was going there."

As Dante flew pass Nurse Joy, he kicked dust up everywhere. Waving at the dust cloud, the nurse giggled. "Good luck."

* * *

Flailing like a madman running out of the Pokémon Center, Dante rushed trying to reach Striaton City as fast as he feet would take him. Which happened to be not that far, but still he ran out of gas halfway there. Puffing loudly he ended up leaning against a sign for Route Two. Looking at the sign Dante realized that the streets detail were obscured by graffiti reading. 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained. ~TP.'

"Haaaaa...I am seriously out of shape," panted Dante bending over grabbing his knees. Sucking in deep breaths of air; Dante's lungs felt like they were on fire, thigh chaffed, and he dripped sweat everywhere. As Dante struggled catching his breath, his knapsack shook around vigorously. Looking over his back, "What now?!"

Reaching behind his back, Dante placed his backpack on one of the numerous park benches that lined the route. Trying to figure out what was happening Dante unzipped his bag. Upon opening it out popped Oshawott. "Osha!" Holding out its scalchop, the Sea Otter Pokémon chastised him. Oshawott was quite livid about this, he needed to get this.

"What's wrong with you? Isn't the Pokéball comfortable?" Dante grumbled, he was too exhausted for this nonsense. Still holding its Pokéball, Dante peered inside the hallowed out device. Inside, it was rather dark probably uncomfortable.

Shaking its head, Oshawott rolled in front of Dante trying to get him to understand that it could not protect him from inside a Pokéball. "Osha! Wott! Oshawott!"

"Again with guarding me?! And what are you protecting me from Oshawott?!" Dante scoffed. However, returning the device to his holster, he gave up. What good would it be forcing Oshawott to do something he did not want to. "Fine do whatever you want, but you better keep up."

Oshawott agreed eagerly dancing around. "Osha! Osha!"

Taking a gander inside his backpack, Dante felt the need to straighten out a couple of things. Slipping on his rubber gloves, he pulled out Joltik's Pokéball. In all the confusion he had forgot to even ask Joltik if it wanted to be trained by him. Clicking the large button in the center of the ball, a red beam of light released the Attaching Pokémon. "Um...Joltik? Can we talk?"

This happened to be an all to familiar scene for Joltik. Could the events with Mitchel be repeating themselves. "Joltik?!"

Oshawott sat in the grass pouting. He could be incredibly jealous at times, in his opinion he was the only Pokémon that Dante needed. "Osha..."

Looming over Joltik, Dante stared unnervedly at it. Coughing loudly clearing his throat, he addressed his Pokémon. "Ahem...Um...Joltik. I...uh...wanted to make sure you were alright with me being your trainer. I know you just got over a tramuatic experience." With all the strange happenings in Accumula Town, he had not got a chance for a proper dialogue.

Peering over its shoulder, Oshawott could not believe its ears. Leaning in the Sea Otter Pokémon tried getting a better vantage point. "Osha? Wott?" It did not make sense. It was Dante who caught Joltik, it was up to him to train or not.

Dante's ire was aimed for the patch of land that Oshawott claimed as his own. "I can't do that." Shaking his head, he refused to be that guy. He would never force a Pokémon against its will. What kind of person would violate the right of his Pokémon to b happy. "No, Oshawott. I don't mind training Joltik, but it has to be his decision. It'll be wrong any other way."

"Jolt?" inquired Joltik, its master before never acted like this.

Dusting off his pants off, Dante stood up straight. He was prepared to give his best pitch to Joltik. "I...I'm not that confident in myself, but I would like it very much if you come with Oshawott and I."

Finally dawning on it that Dante was not releasing it, Joltik's many eyes welled up with tears. After being trained for so long the Attaching Pokémon knew it would not last long in the wild. Crawling through the grass, it happily agreed. "Joltik! Jolt."

"Alright, cool it," groaned Dante opening the Pokéball drawing Joltik back inside. How could Dante even think about training a Pokémon that gave him the willies. Whatever he would come up with something. Flopping on the park bench himself, Dante took out his Unova License holding up at the sun.

The laminated plastic shimmered in the light. _"Ahhh...How do I get myself into this messes?"_

Why was Dante being such a stick in the mud when they were so close to the next town. Poking and proding him with his paws, Oshawott struggled getting him to move. "Oshawott! Osha!" The sea otter was not playing fair his coal black eyes, twinkled pulling at Dante's heart-strings.

"Gah...too cute. That was a cheap trick." Slapping his face, still Dante knew Oshawott was right. Sitting there feeling sorry himself was not accomplishing anything. Perhaps he would find his traitorous friends in the next city.

Dragging himself off the bench, he started off towards the end of Route Two. Glancing down at his little buddy, he huffed. "Here goes nothing."

* * *

Entering Striaton City a slight chill flowed through the air, the temperature was a lot lower than Acculuma Town. Dante's eyes widened checking his surroundings, the eastern half of Striaton City houses buildings with unique architectural designs. On the west side of Striaton City, there was a hedge garden surrounded by water. It contained hedge walls, and Pikachu and Pidove-shaped hedges. In the center of the garden was a tall water squirting Slowbro fountain.

Taking a looking around, Dante realized that Striaton City was packed with tourists aside from him.

Activating his Xtransceiver, Dante learned more about Striaton City, the entry stairs built in memory of a former home in a snowier climate. "Oh...wow. You were right Oshawott it was great that we came to the city." The town's architecture was so pretty, Dante reached into his handy backpack pulling out a digital camera. "Hehehe...I can post these pics on my PokéBook wall," he snickered lining up his next shot.

Seeing Dante's photography, Oshawott wriggled himself into every picture. "Osha!" The little sea otter stood there brandishing his scalchop. He hated to admit, but Oshawott was highly photogenic making Dante's pictures a lot more life-like. "Wott..."

"Alright! Alright I admit it. You make the pictures better." Checking the lens on his camera, Dante set-up the next photo. Tapping his chin, he had to think about what would make a good photo. Dante already snapped pictures of the garden and fountain. "Hmmm...I got it! Get in closer to the Pokémon Center."

"Osha," cried Oshawott running in front of the building. Taking a knee, he placed a paw against his forehead.

Lowering his camera, Dante snickered. "Pose natural ya ham."

The automated doors to the Pokémon Center slid open as a man dressed like a waiter stepped outside carrying a bag full of groceries. There were numerous heavy bags that blocked his view. However, the waiter appeared satisfied. Gawking at the Pokémon riding on his shoulder, he chortled. "Honestly Panpour I don't know what we would do if Striaton City's Pokémon Center did not have a post office. Only the best vegetables from Ramos' garden will work at our café."

"Pour! Panpour," chattered Panpour agreeing with his master.

Panpour happened to be a simian, blue-and-cream Pokémon. It had oval eyes that were usually seen closed, large ears with light blue insides, and a tiny, black nose. There was a puffy, wave-like crest on top of its head. It also possessed a blue, frilled-like feature on its neck and upper shoulders. Its muzzle, lower body, and skinny forelimbs were cream-colored, and its hands seemed to have no fingers, aside from a thumb. Its small feet both had three toes each. Its long tail had a clover-shaped tip.

Not able to see over the bag of groceries, the waiter could not see Oshawott posing underneath him. Dante struggled to reveal the words. _"Um...eh...erm...watch out." _

Closing his eyes tightly, Dante flinched hearing the young waiter tripping over Oshawott.

Losing his balance, the young man toppled over Oshawott crashing face first. "Wah..."

Returning his digital camera to his backpack, Dante rushed over making sure the waiter was alright. "Oh my gosh. I am so sorry about that." Bending over, he carefully scooped up bags of groceries. While Dante did not know much about vegetables, he could tell just by looking that these were excellent ones. Huge plump red tomatoes, crispy green lettuce, and the sturdiest brown potatoes.

Whoever this guy was, he appeared more interested in the groceries than his own wellbeing. "Oh no! Are the vegetables alright?!" Quickly snatching the bag from, the waiter scanned it up and down looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Nothing appeared out of place, slumping towards the ground he let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness."

Patting the man on the back, Panpour chattered. "Pour! Panpour."

Panpour did not seem all that bad taking out his Pokédex from his backpack, Dante looked for even more information. _"Panpour, the Spray Pokémon: The water stored inside the tuft on its head is full of nutrients. It waters plants with it using its tail. Type: Water."_

Taking a good look at the guy, Dante noticed his luscious wavy blue hair swept across to one side of his face and he had cerulean eyes. The waiter a long sleeved white collared shirt that appeared ironed about a millions times, the shirt was covered in creases, and his white cufflinks glimmered in the light.

He also wore a sleeveless black vest with two gold buttons down the middle, and he completed the look with a blue bowtie around his neck. Around his waist was a white apron, he wore a pair of skin-tight black slacks, and some brown loafers.

Wasting little time the Sea Otter ran over to Panpour. "Osha! Oshawott!" barked Oshawott he loved having chats with other Pokémon.

Wait just a minute, a chef dressed as a waiter walking around with a Panpour. "Y...you must be Cress?! I read about you in the Unova guide book." Activating his Xtransceiver, Dante brought up a profile of Cress. His intuition proved to be true. "You're one of the head chefs of the Elemental Monkey cafe!"

Hearing a voice hark towards him out of nowhere, Cress almost dropped the groceries. Stumbling forward he managed to regain control of his bags. "Huh?! Who said that?" A local celebrity in his own right Cress was pretty much used to people calling out his name. Shifting his head back and forth, he inquired the identity of this stranger. "Uh...yes I am! And you are?" Cress was so busy bawling over some tomatoes that he had not even noticed Dante.

Dante immediately introduced himself. Adhan always taught him that good manners were key to any situation. "Oh, I'm Dante Masters. And this is Oshawott my first Pokémon." It also worked out well when he nervous and had nothing to say.

Honestly trainers flooded in and out of Striaton City everyday with their Starter Pokémon. _"An Oshawott eh?! I guess that means you'll be facing off against Cilan," _Cress mumbled holding his sack of groceries closer to his chest.

"Huh?"

Shaking his head, Cress realized that he was staring off into space. Focusing back at Dante, he chuckled. "Ahhh...I didn't say anything."

Changing the subject, Dante just did not understand Cress' appearance. "Uh...why is a chef dressed as a waiter?"

Cress seemed intensely proud of his wardrobe. Pulling on a button, he gently swiped one side of his blue hair to the other side. "That's a simple question. Me and my brothers studied the culinary arts from Siebold in the Kalos region. He was a foul mouth, venom spewing maniac, but his cooking was out of this world. When we worked in his kitchen we worked as waiters. Even the simplest mistakes he would fly off the handle. Some students actually cracked under the pressure and quit."

Tilting his head, Dante would not brag about that. "He sounds like a tyrant."

"Yeah, he was." However, Cress thought it was everything. "After we graduated I decided that until we surpass him, we would dress like this."

"I see." Thinking about it, Dante could sympathize with someone wanting to step out of the shadows. No matter whatever he did back home, people expected him to follow in his mother's footsteps. While Dante respected actors he never, ever wanted to be famous and besides he was terribly camera-shy. "I'm not sure what I want to do. However, I don't wanna be anyone, but me."

Balancing the sacks in his arms, Cress peered down at Dante. "Hey, I have an idea. Before I bumped into you, I was supposed to be cooking a meal for the kid's at the Trainer's School. Why don't you tag along? The kids there would love to meet your Oshawott and who knows you'll probably be able to learn a thing or two."

"Um...no thanks," Dante eeked taking a few steps back.

"You owe me kid. It was your Oshawott that was standing outside the Pokémon Center when I fell. Maybe we should report this matter to Officer Jenny, I think I might of sprung my ankle. "

Lowering his head, Dante must of been an easy target of blackmail._ "Fine..."_ Dropping his defenses he quietly followed Cress down the street towards the Trainer's School. Slowly traversing the Striaton streets, he continuously cursed himself for being so gullible.

* * *

**A/N: Once again Dante's lack of self-assertion has gotten him into trouble. Where kinds of shenanigans does Cress have in mind? Useless trivia time: Its pretty obvious that I based Siebold on Gordon Ramsey. Striaton City is based on Canarsie, Brooklyn. Strange I thought it was supposed to be Long Island.**

**Stay tuned for Chapter Six Just a Lillipup.**


	6. Just a Lillipup

**Previously on Unovian Chronicles: When I woke up my so called friends had ditched me. After getting insulted by Nurse Joy (Seriously she was a mutant and had the nerve to laugh at me) Anyway I made it into Striaton City with Oshawott and Joltik. The town had beautiful architeture that I could not resist, but to take a few pictures for my wall. While Oshawott pranced around hamming up all my shots, we ran into Cress, the Striaton City Gym Leader. Me being me I kinda let Cress fall over Oshawott. I tried helping him up, but all he was interested in was some fancy vegetables. He forced to me to join him on his excursion to the nearby Trainer's School. On the way there I learned more about his past he apparently trained under some gourmet chef in the Kalos region. I guess the world's a lot smaller than I previously envisioned. Who knew?**

* * *

**Unovian Chronicles**

**Entry Six**

**Just a Lillipup**

It was an awkward silent trip while Dante followed Cress down the busy Striaton street. Nothing came to Dante, he was just useless in moments like this. How would he be able to explain to Adhan that he was being dragged around by the nose. Moving closer and closer to their intended location, Dante soured even more, looking up that's when he noticed that a few women passing in the opposite direction stopped to get a good look at Cress. The Striaton triplets were not just known for their cooking abilities, but for their so-called good looks. Dante actually felt like they were a couple of sellouts only interested in the fame and fortune.

Kicking a pebble down the street, he had never felt so out of place. "I guess you and brothers are popular," Dante quipped placing his hands into his pockets.

Too bad he did not have that problem. If only Dante was assertive Bianca would probably be his girlfriend by now. He went over the perfect scenario in his mind hundreds of times, but always choked in the end. Maybe it was never meant to be, no he could never think that way.

Carefully cradling the groceries, Cress paused thinking for a minute. It was true their café had not being popular until recently, but he had no clue as to why. It was always about the cooking with him. In his mind getting closer and closer to Siebold was all that mattered.

"I wouldn't know. Chili made a few changes to the café and its even more popular with the young ladies in town," Cress mumbled. "He's totally ruined everything. I can only imagine what Master Siebold would think."

Comparing himself to Cress only served to make Dante feel bad. His mind raced trying to think of something. A tiny lightbulb appeared over Dante's head lighting up, he had gotten an idea. "So, there's actually a school for Pokémon trainers?!"

Cress was surprised that Dante had never heard of the Trainer's School. Looking down at Pansage and back up again he explained. "The Pokémon League set-up the Trainers' School so that young children between the ages of five and ten could get some basic Pokémon knowledge. Since a trainer can't register for the league until their tenth birthday, the school is here to make sure they were ready."

That was rather appealing. The Pokémon League again, their reach was astounding. Dante did not know where he stood on them, whether they were heroes or villans. _"The indoctrination begins early."_

Continuing down the street, Cress glanced down at his much shorter companion. "Its not unheard that trainers stay at a Trainer's School pass the age of ten. Some of the school's have curriculum, so intense that the trainers are allowed to compete in the Pokémon League without having to win a single gym badge."

"Wha...I shoulda went to a Trainer's School! That sounds a lot easier than crawling around looking for gym badges," coughed Dante, he always looked for the easiest way out.

Shaking his head, Cress felt it was best that Dante keep on the path he now was on. "Nah, like I said the Pokémon League is very particular. Less than one percent of the Trainer's School graduates are allowed to compete in the Vertress Conference. Besides there are somethings that can only be learned from firsthand experience."

Sticking his hands into his pockets, Dante looked away. He really did not know if Cress was right or not, but he knew if he attended some school he would have never met Oshawott._ "I guess..."_

Happily sniffing around Cress' legs, Oshawott cooed. "Osha! Oshawott!" Even though the chef carried a sack of vegetables, the Sea Otter Pokémon's mouth watered.

Placing out its paws, Panpour shielded the groceries from Oshawott. "Panpour! Pan!" squeaked the Spray Pokémon. Panpour appeared a lot more mature than Oshawott. Dante chalked it up to him being a stone Pokémon. It looked like a child, but it really was not.

Peering down at his Pokémon, Dante's head shifted toward Cress asking. "What's with the vegetables? Since you're a chef why don't the students visit the Elemental Monkey?!"

Flashing a serene grin, Cress explained. "I'm going there to teach the students that they can make a healthy meal out of your everyday items. You know regular groceries that can be bought from your ordinary PokéMart."

"Uh..." Dante was actually speechless, the words did not come to him. Despite saying that Cress had the nerve to have the highest quality vegetables delivered from Ramos' garden all the way in the Kalos region.

Placing Cress' obvious hypocrisy to the side, Dante retorted. "I'm confused doesn't the Pokémon Center offer trainers free food?"

As the Trainer's School came into focus, Cress explained. "Yes, the Pokémon Center offers free food, but its important to be able to prepare your own meals. There won't be any centers around to feed you while you're traveling through some mountain." For once Dante had no response, in the end what the flamboyant gym leader said was true. "Its important to be self-sufficient."

The Striaton Trainer's School was quite small sitting at the edge of a busy street corner. The little red brick schoolhouse seemed older than the other buildings. While most of the Striaton City buildings were modern, but the Trainer's School was something out of the past. On the roof hanging just a few inches above the school was a heavily rusted bell. Even the grass was neatly trimmed with a fence built around the entire complex.

"Doesn't it have this subtle rustic charm?" Cress wowed standing in front of the school.

Dante appreciated the singleness of it all. _"It looks straight out of Nuvema Town." _

Reaching out his hand, Dante clasped the cold golden doorknob in his hands. Twisting the knob to the left, he opened the Trainer School's doors. Once the doors opened a energetic little Lillipup immediately tackled Dante knocking him to the floor. Gently licking his face with his soggy tongue, Lillipup barked. "Arf! Arf!" The Puppy Pokémon's tail wagged back and forth, it appeared to be quite friendly. The Puppy Pokémon bounced around happily on Dante's chest.

Lifting up his bag, Cress narrowly evaded the little Pokémon. "Ahhh...It's a Lillipup." After Cress pulled back his sack of groceries, Lillipup crashed head first into a wall. The little puppy was so hyperactive that it bounced off happily.

"Osha! Oshawott!" cred Oshawott rushing over to the Puppy Pokémon. Lillipup was a bit too energetic for Oshawott pouncing on top of the Sea Otter Pokémon.

Sitting on top of Dante's chest, Lillipup was a light brown, canine Pokémon. It had oval, brown eyes, a red nose, and its face was covered by an abundance of cream fur. It had large pointed ears with a tuft of fur near the base of each. Its fur puffs out above its paws, and its back had a spiky dark blue blaze. Each paw had three toes, and a blue paw pad.

It was a shame that Dante did not feel the same way, Lillipup was just as scary as any other Pokémon. Fear entered his body, trembling like a leaf Dante's face turned pale like a ghost. Only the most ridiculous scenarios popped into his mind. Squirming away from Lillipup, he wriggled behind the teacher's desk. "Ahhhhhhhh...Get away from monster." Behind Lillipup's panting adorable face, Dante knew he was a Kujo waiting to rip out his throat.

Glancing sheepishly from the side of the desk, Dante wiped thick globs of drool from his face. Turning around placing his backpack on the floor, unzipping it his he removed his Pokédex. Activating the device, he checked out the Pokémon that just assualted him. _"Lillipup, the Puppy Pokémon: The long hair around its face provides an amazing radar that lets it sense subtle changes in its surroundings. It faces strong opponents with great courage. But, when at a disadvantage in a fight, this intelligent Pokémon flees._ _Type: Normal."_

Lillipup's tail wagged even faster, was Dante playing some sort of game. Yipping loudly the Puppy Pokémon was about to give chase before Cheren called him back. Walking through a sea of kindergardners, he pushed up his glasses dramatically. "Stop it Lillipup." Sniffing the ground, Lillipup returned his master. The Puppy Pokémon was already properly trained.

Not forgetting how they just left him in Acculuma Town, Dante flew off the handle. A usually reserved person nothing, but rage entered him. "Cheren..."

In his rage, Dante ignored all that the classroom had to offer. The Trainer School's main building resembled a Kindergarden classroom. Many poorly drawn pictures of Pokémon covered the walls, tiny chairs and tables that came up to Dante's knee, and many magazines written by Professor Juniper were littered everywhere. The classroom was also packed to the brim with five and six year olds.

Words could not even begin to explain how furious he was. How could Cheren do this, Dante thought they were in this all together. Stumbling towards him, before Dante realized what he was doing, he had grabbed Cheren by the collar. Shaking him back and forth incredibly hard, he screeched. "I...I was the one that went to Anthony's house and promised him nothing would happen to Bianca. And you pull a stunt like this?"

Speaking of Bianca where was she. Searching for her, Dante broke out in a cold sweat. What if something terrible happened to her. Dante would never forgive himself if she had gotten into some trouble because of Cheren. "Ahh...Why are you by yourself?! Isn't Bianca with you?"

Knocking away Dante's hands, Cheren straightened up his collar. Why bring up an insignificant topic up like Bianca, Cheren was more focused on Pokémon. "Oh Bianca, well we split up after coming into the town. There's no way we can be rivals by traveling around together."

Turning pale, tiny cracks appeared all over Dante's face. "You what?" Dante knew he should of took charge back in Acculuma Town, but he was distracted about Unova not having a President.

Waving his hand Cheren immediately dismissed his fears. "I'm sure she's fine. When we were last together Bianca said something about helping Fennel with her research. I don't have the time to deal with one of Aurea's friends." Was everybody, except Dante insane. How could Cheren be so selfish.

Striding pass Dante, Cress made his way over towards he back of the room setting down the sack of groceries. While Cress slowly pulled out the vegetables, he stood there gawking at them quipping. "Ahh...so you two know each other?" The way they bickered reminded of him with his brothers.

Looking away from Cheren, Dante's eyes met Cress' gaze. "Um...Yeah. Cheren is one of my friends from back in Nuvema Town. Wait how do you know Cheren?"

Inspecting the vegetables that he had spread across the table, the chef carefully removed all specks of dirt. Plucking away some dust, he spoke out. "Why yes I know him! Young Cheren stopped by the gym just this morning and he defeated Chili. It was a magnificent battle between Pansear and Snivy. Both trainers called out their attacks beautifully. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time."

Sure Cheren always talked about rewriting the Pokémon history books, but this was insane. "What?! You won a gym badges already?! We just got our Pokémon two days ago," screeched Dante, he was surprised by his sheer determination.

Aurea always told them that Cheren was a genius, but Dante chalked it up to him being a braggart. It seemed that a formiddable rival appeared before him.

Pushing up his glasses, Cheren acted if it were nothing. "Of course, I trained Snivy and Lillipup incredibly hard until we won the Trio Badge."

Dante had been so loud and boisterous, that he irked Cheren. Staring daggers into him, Cheren addressed his friend. "So what have you been doing?"

Shuddering from his words, Dante had no acceptable answer. "Uh...nothing."

Raising an eyebrow, Cheren expelled. "Nothing? Are you kidding me?" How could he call himself Cheren's rival and not even attempt to do anything.

Still standing in the back multiple children crowded Cress each asking him about a thousand different individual questions. Flashing a warm smile he patiently tried answering them. In order to calm things down, stepping through them, their teacher made her way over to the chef. Placing her hands together, she cheerfully welcomed him. "I am so glad you could show up today Cress. The students have all been eagerly awaiting your arrival." About twenty gleaming faces greeted the Striaton Gym Leader.

Holding out his arms, Cress performed a tiny little bow. Gently kissing her hand, the Striaton chef poured on the smarmy. Staring dreamily in her eyes, Cress appeared like he stopped short of proposing. "Catherine there you are. Looking as lovely as ever I might add. How have you been?"

In the short time Dante had known Cress, he had been so full of himself. The theatrics of this guy proved to be nothing short of a deviant. Still though Dante turned facing Catherine and introduced himself and Oshawott.

Catherine wore a salmon zipped vest with a gold-rimmed fold-over collar, brown arm warmers and brown gloves. A long salmon skirt with a silver waistband, black pants, a brown belt and black shoes. She had blue eyes and wears her blonde hair tied up at the back, held with a silver comb accessory, and had two long fringes framing her face.

"Ahhh...You ask me that question everyday and the answers always the same. I am fine," Catherine sighed pulling away her hand. Glancing backward at Cheren, she felt the need to "Although I am grateful that this young man Cheren did stop by and allowed the students play with his Pokémon."

"Of course there's nothing better than real life experience. In order to truly learn about Pokémon one must learn first hand," Cheren announced his glasses shimmering brightly. It appeared that he had took it upon himself to teach the youngsters about Pokémon battling. Raising a finger, he snickered. "My motto is 'a good offense is the best defense'. Don't you agree Dante?!"

Shaking his head, Dante focused mostly of defense. "Not really. I think its probably the other way around. A good defense is the best offense."

How come Dante was not falling into line, he was embarrassing Cheren in front of his students. "That's probably why you lost to N. Such timid teachings won't get your Pokémon anywhere," Cheren grumbled sulking quite visibly.

At the same time grinding his teeth, Dante could not understand why Cheren would not accept his battling preference. It should not matter what Dante prized in battle, Cheren should have his own style. "Hey stop trying to denegrate me!"

Glancing away from Cress, Catherine's eye locked onto Dante and Cheren. Their boisterous arguing seemed to be scaring the children. Instead of giving the students nightmares, Catherine felt that this could be another great experience for them. "Please don't argue. I know...while Cress cooks the meal you two can have a Pokémon battle 'll be a perfect learning experience for the students."

"Huh?!" Dante barked tilting his head slightly.

Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, Cheren pointed at Catherine agreeing with her. "That's an excellent idea. With this I'll prove to you that my way is better Dante."

Grinding his teeth, Dante was forced into another situation against his will. _"Again?! How come people always volunteer me for things without asking me first?"_

Now that everything was settled, Cheren had a few qualms about the plan. "I think the battle is a wonderful idea, but I feel kind of iffy about doing it inside a building."

Calmly walking towards classroom's the backdoor, Catherine released a few chortles. "Don't be silly of course you will not be battling inside the schoolhouse. Out back we have a battlefield for Pokémon demonstrations."

* * *

Popping the door open, Catherine revealed the schoolyard's battlefield. The Trainers School's field was rather benign, just a dusty pit of sand. Perfect for two nobodies to have their first battle.

Tapping his feet against the ground, thin puffs of smoke floated airborne as Cheren coughed. "Hmm...It is quite meager battlefield, but it'll do."

_"Ohhhhhh," _Butterflies danced around inside Dante's stomach being inside a Pokémon battle racked his mind.

Clasping her hand together, Catherine attracted everyone's attention. She had this presence about herself that when she spoke everyone listened. Stepping out into the center of the battlefield, she addressed them all. "In order not to overwhelm the children how about you two only use one Pokémon each?"

"I understand," Cheren answered. His battle with Dante was a long time coming. Placing two fingers in his mouth, he whistled loudly signaling for Lillipup. "Its time to battle boy."

Running through the crowd Lillipup hopped around Cheren's legs barking loudly. "Arf! Arf!"

Normally Dante's first choice in battle would be Oshawott, however a little girl in the crowd held him to her chest closely. It felt wrong to take the Sea Otter Pokémon from such a cute little angel, but that meant he would be forced to use Joltik. Putting on his glove, Dante tossed out his Pokéball. "Um...Joltik let's go."

Even if Oshawott was out of the battle, Dante sat down his laptop turning on the webcam. "Okay now I'll be able to record some footage." During the battle with N, Dante had forgot to set up his webcam. Now after the match with Cheren ended he would be able to check out whatever he did wrong and formulate more strategy.

Appearing on the battlefield, the tiny Joltik looked all around. He had not been in a battle for awhile. "Jolt! Joltik!"

One student commented. "Huh?! Isn't it too small?"

"It's so little that Lillipup's gonna step on it." Another student stated.

Even if Dante was not used to Joltik, he would not tolerate anyone else talking down to it. "S...Size doesn't matter. Joltik is going to win."

Dante appeared to be forgetting about his opponent. "We'll see about that. Lillipup use Work Up."

"Arwoooooo," howled Lillipup standing up on its hind legs and reaching its paws up in the air, raising its attack power.

Pushing his anxiousness to the side, Dante commanded his first attack. "Um...Try and use Bug Bite!" Joltik's miniscule incisors flashed as it blitzes towards Lillipup attempting to take a chomp out of it.

"Protect go!" Cheren harked snapping his fingers. Bracing itself, a turquoise force field comes surrounds Lillipup's body, protecting it from attacks. Joltik bounced off landing on its back.

One setback appeared to already crush Dante's self-confidence. _"Oh no."_

Looking at Dante slowly lose his nerve, Cheren capatilized on it. "Lillipup I require you to use Take Down," Lillipup crouched down as a golden force field surrounded its body. Running across the battlefield its body then became surrounded in a light bronze energy. Moving like a blur it slammed its body into Joltik.

Life drained from Dante's face, he could not take another lost. Analyzing the battlefield he realized that Joltik did not look hurt at all. _"Hmmm...I guess that Mitchel clown trained Joltik pretty well." _Yeah, what was wrong with Dante. How could he fall to pieces after just two attacks, he needed to get serious.

Dante waited for Lillipup to try to get out of the way. Pointing forward he ordered an attack. "You won't get away! Joltik use Electroweb!" Sprawling across the field, Joltik then fired the stream of yellow electricity into the air. As it flew through the air, the tip opened up and expanded, forming into a large spider web of electricity that covered Lillipup electrocuting the Puppy Pokémon, also slowing him down.

Now that Lillipup was significantly slower, Dante knew that the Attaching Pokémon had the advantage. "Now get in there. Smash it with Electro Ball."

"Joltik! Jolt!" hissed Joltik forming an orb of yellow and orange electricity with yellow electric sparks around it in front of its mouth. It then fired the orb at Lillipup. The orb exploded when it hits the Puppy Pokémon, which left behind yellow electric sparks in the dust and smoke.

"Chaining Electroweb and Electroball was pretty smart of you Dante, but Joltik just hit its two Electric attacks limit. So what are you gonna do now? As for me Lillipup is going to use Bite," chided Cheren, he was getting a lot more than he expected out of this battle.

"Arf! Arf!" Lillipup's teeth glowed white and it bit down on Joltik. As Lillipup moves while its teeth glowed white, they left behind white streaks of energy. "Arwoooooo." Shaking its head back and forth vigorously, Lillipup let go tossing it back over to Dante.

Glancing down at Joltik, Dante had to think of something. They were heading for another lost. _"Cheren's right Joltik is all out of juice. Wait a minute...Joltik gathers static electricity from leeching its opponents. I need to hit Lillipup with Bug Bite, but Cheren will just deflect it with Protect again."_ If only he could take advantage of Cheren's aggressive nature. That was it, Dante had to trick him into using Protect again.

Tapping his glasses Cheren was ready to counter any move. _"Look at Dante standing there. I bet he's going to try to use Bug Bite on Lillipup, but I'll stop him with Protect and then finish him off with Take Down."_

_"Whatever Dante tries don't fall for it Lillipup. Use Protect immediately," _whispered Cheren kneeling besides it.

Taking a deep breath, Dante could only hope it would work. "Joltik use Screech!" Opening its mouth high-pitched squealing escape Joltik's body. Large sound waves echoed towards Lillipup.

Cheren had been deceived, but it was too late. Before he could cancel the attack, Lillipup was already deflecting he Screech with its Protect.

Pumping his fist, Dante was actually proud of it. "Yes, it worked! Now Joltik use Bug Bite!"

Cheren desperately called for another Protect, but it was nearly impossible to use it consecutively. Joltik sprung from the ground attaching itself to Lillipup biting it repeatedly. It had finally sunk in what Dante was trying to accomplish leaving Cheren with little time to counterattack. "I know this sounds weird, but use Take Down on that wall. We need to get Joltik of you."

Fully obedient Lillipup turned charging towards a wall with little hesitation. "Arwwooooo."

Such a reckless attack was in Cheren's nature, but Dante needed to put him down. Seeing Joltik swoll thick from gorging itself on static electricity, Dante was ready to win this battle. "Oh no you don't Cheren. Its over! Joltik use Electro Ball."

As Lillipup charged for the nearby wall, Joltik converted its stolen electricity into a gigantic ball zapping the Puppy Pokémon mercilessly. The electricity was insanely powerful bringing Lillipup down to its knees, toppling over unconscious.

Catherine called the battle right then and there. It did not make a whole lot of sense for the two Pokémon to beat each other senseless. Motioning her right arm in Dante's direction she stated the results. "Lillipup isn't able to battle, Joltik wins. The winner of this battle is Dante."

Blinking wildly the sheer astonishment of his accomplishment forced Dante to screeched. "We won?!"

For a second there, he even did not mind that Joltik was a Bug Pokémon. Bending over he cupped Joltik in his hands. "You were excellent for a second there I thought we would lose."

Just standing there Cheren swayed back and forth in the breeze. Cheren's mouth was dry, he felt dizzy about to pass out. _"I...I lost to Dante?!"_

The backdoor swung open and out of the schoolhouse strolled Cress and Panpour carrying cucumber sandwiches on platters. Making his way over to the group, they passed out the sandwiches. While the children smacked on the sandwiches, Cress gave his on assesstment of things. "I saw the whole thing superb battle. Cheren's overconfidence had his Lillipup dragged down into the undertow."

"Overconfidence?! I was there when Dante caught Joltik it was nothing," Cheren snarled. He had never underestimate an opponent during his short reign as a Pokémon trainer. Facing him the young genius made his case. "Joltik had a two Electric attack limit."

Finally it appeared that it was time for Catherne to make her bones as a teacher. "Hehehe...you seem confused. Joltik can't generate electricity at all. It harness static energy it drains from opponents. So, if this Joltik can only use two moves before running out of power its because it wastes most of the energy."

Both Dante and Cheren showed signs that they did not know that. _"Huh?!"_

Walking over to his laptop, Dante lifting the computer off the ground. Turning off the webcam and shutting the screen, he snapped. "Hey...you're supposed to know everything! Why didn't you tell me that Joltik was wasting energy?!"

Looking away, Cheren tried playing it cool. However, Dante grated his last nerve. Beating Lillipup was one thing, but using a Joltik that had no control over its power was another. "Get off my back. I don't read that much about Bug Pokémon, they have the reputation of being weak. Besides your win was a fluke."

Sneering and leering, Dante was not going to take. "A fluke?!"

Stepping in-between them, Cress placed his palms on Cheren and Dante's forehead chastising them. "Enough! Such childish bickering taints your beautiful battle."

Pulling away Cress' hand, Dante was wowed about his statements. "You really think it was that great?"

Flicking away his blue hair, Cress appeared to gleam in the sunlight. Seriously, he was more of pretty boy than Cheren was, if that was even possible. "Of course I think you'll give Cilan a show. He needs it too, after how haughty he's been getting lately."

Scrunching up his face, Dante struggled to match a body to that name. "Wait...Cilan? Oh yeah, your brother with the Pansage."

Rubbing two fingers against his temples, Cress got a migraine just remembering it. "Yeah, and lately Cilan has been insufferable. He's gotten it into his mind that he's Kalosian. I mean he's speaking French and everything. So I'm thinking that you and your Oshawott can make him return to normal. There's no way he can keep that ridiculous act if he's in the midst of an intense battle." Cress had been looking for anyone that could help dealing with Chili was one thing, but Cilan just added to his headaches.

Wriggling free of the girl that happened to be squeezing him, Oshawott quickly made his way over to Dante's side. "Oshawott! Osha! Wott!"

Pointing at Oshawott, Cress seemed ever so pleased. "See even your Pokémon is pumped."

"Are you sure Oshawott?! A gym battle is a lot different," inquired Dante. "Are you sure we're ready?"

Oshawott thought they were more than ready to face a gym leader howling. "Oshawwwwwooooootttttttt!"

Too bad Dante was not feeling up to the task. His stomach tossed and turned, battling against some pro trainer was a lot scarier than facing some amateur like Cheren. In order to cheer him on Catherine lead the students on a cheer. Throwing the arms up repeatedly in the air, Catherine cheered louder than her own students. "You can do it!" It was incredibly bizarre, but it seemed to do the trick lightening his mood.

Tears flowed from Cress' eyes he was extremely jealous. Practically pouncing on her, he demanded answers. "You never cheered for me Cathy! Why go through all that for some little kid."

Giving him the cold shoulder, Catherine stated. "Don't call me Cathy. And I always root for the underdog."

Instead of continuing with his journey, Cheren had decided to stick around Striaton City. "This I got to see..." There was no way Dante could defeat a gym leader, not as long as he was lead around the nose by his Pokémon.

* * *

**A/N: After a fierce battle with Lillipup it looks like Dante won his first match. Now's he on to his next task battling against Cress' brother Cilan at the Striaton City Gym. Will Dante be victorious or will his head be on the chopping block?**

**Stay tuned for Chapter Seven Pansage Advice.**


	7. Pansage Advice

**Previously on Unovian Chronicles: Following Cress to the Trainer's School I realized that it was basically a Kindergarten built to teach little kids about Pokémon. Cress was visiting the school to cook the children a healthy lunch. What I did not expect was for Cheren to be there with his brand new Pokémon, Lillipup. Like always Cheren was being a braggart showing off his Trio Badge, but out of nowhere the teacher there thought it would be great for us to battle each other. I wasn't so sure about this, but somehow I ended up defeating him with Joltik. After I won Cheren tried making excuses, but I didn't care because I won. Can you believe it I actually won. Oh, but something bad happened too. Cress decided that I battled so good that I should challenge his brother Cilan. Why me?**

**Unovian Chronicles**

**Entry Seven**

**Pansage Advice**

_"Hmmm...It was good but definitely not enough. I can't win against Cilan like this." _That night Dante sat up in his room watching the footage of his battle with Cheren over and over. Sure Joltik defeated Lillipup, but he knew such cheap tricks would never work on a wily veteran. Cilan would sniff them out in an instant. Tapping his chin nothing came to mind how he could defeat him. Joltik climbed on top of his head peering down at the flashing screen. _"I wonder if Oshawott will be able to handle it?"_

Sitting on his bed, Cheren still acted as a sore loser. "Urrrr...you're so frustrating you didn't put that much work into our battle." There was something irriating about seeing his rival get a little ahead of him, yeah Cheren had a Trio Badge but it did not feel that way. "And now you're all of a sudden used to Joltik. Talk about weak."

Gawking up from his computer, Dante stared at him with a blank expression. Typing away on his monitor, he wondered what crawled up Cheren's butt and died. "Huh?! I...I didn't know we were going to have a battle. You ambushed me!"

"Joltik?! What does Joltik have to do with anything." Reaching a top of his head, Dante scratched it leisurely until his fingers ran across Joltik's tiny hairy frame. Stiffening up, all the life exited his face. Flailing wildly he tried effortlessly to dislodge the tiny tick. Yeah Dante might of gotten a bit too thrilled after his battle with Cheren to notice he touched Joltik, but now he was in full control of his emotions.

Watching the display only served to make Cheren question himself further. _"I can't believe I lost to him." _

Realizing that anger would not help him, Cheren had asked Dante to be his rival in the first place. Acting like a tool just from one lost was beneath him. _"I guess so." _Tapping his fingers against the mattress, Cheren was forced to think of a way to make his lost into a victory. Maybe by helping Dante, he could learn more about Oshawott and Joltik's limitations.

"Ahem...So you will be using Oshawott tomorrow, correct?" Cheren coughed placing a hand in front of his mouth.

Not taking his eyes off the keyboard, Dante typed furiously retorting_. "Uh huh. I think its a rule or something."_

Getting a little louder, Cheren needed Dante to understand what was happening. Dante needed to grasp what he was in for. Snapping his fingers, he lamented. "Of course it's a rule, Chili, Cilan, and Cress each use Pansear, Pansage, and Panpour respectively. When most trainers begin they usually choose a Starter Pokémon and the Striaton Gym Leader battles them with the one that has the advantage."

Looking up from his laptop, Dante posed a rather simple question. "Hmmm...That makes sense I guess, but what about trainers without Starter Pokémon?"

Gently pushing his glasses up his nose, Cheren loved being smarter than Dante. "That's easy. As long as a trainer has a Pokémon that falls into the category of Fire, Water, and Grass they can challenge the Striaton Gym. This gym focuses on a trainer's thought process. Like how you adapt to different situations."

"I knew that gym's were intense, but that is nuts." Dante was rattled by these things, however he knew it was to be expected. He quickly realized that in this world nothing was easy.

Cracking his knuckles, Cheren slapped his face repeatedly it was time to get down to business. If Dante defeated him and he already possessed the Trio Badge, then he had some sort of a chance. In his vast knowledge he felt it was his place to mentor Dante. "Let's see. You prefer defense over offense, so I assume you'll use Oshawott like that."

Glancing over at Oshawott sitting on the bed, Dante quipped. "Um...yeah that was the plan."

Even though Cheren said all that stuff, he had little insight of helping Dante. "Hmmm...Defense really isn't my forte, but I believe its possible to use the scalchop."

"I'll give it some thought," Dante replied turning his attention back to his laptop. However what was more enlightening, it appeared what Catherine said was true, Cheren only studied things that he was interested in. If Cheren never broaden his horizon was he really a genius. Still though what he said about the scalchop was true, maybe Oshawott could use it like that in battle.

Smacking its chest, the Sea Otter Pokémon chirped. "Oshawott! Osha!" Whatever Dante needed him to do Oshawott was prepared to jump through fire.

"Nothing ever gets you down does it," Dante chuckled watching it brandishing its scalchop.

Cheren bounced around his bed this was his best chance. For once Dante was actually listening to him. He could barely bottle his anticipation. "I battled against Pansear because of Snivy, so I can only imagine you'll have engage in conflict with Pansage. Hmm...Pansage shouldn't be all that difficult, Pansear did not cause me all that much trouble."

It was easier said than done, Dante expelled. "Yeah, but I'm not as good as you."

"Of course you aren't. No one is, but you're not half bad yourself," snickered Cheren really feeling himself.

Later that night, Dante tossed and turned flopping on his uncomfortable mattress. No matter how tightly he closed his eyes, Dante was just not falling asleep. Fixing his eyes over at the desk, he reached into his backpack he pulled out his laptop. Placing his computer on his lap, He decided to surf the web maybe upload his battle footage against Cheren to his Pokébook page. Scrolling through numerous site, he felt it best to get the advice of the person he most admired, Adnan. Clicking on the Skype feature he contacted his mother. It was rather late at night, but Dante was so nervous that he would never get to sleep.

Hopefully his mother would not be angry with him calling. "Mom are you up?!"

A high-pitch beeping echoed from Adnan's computer. Shooting out of bed, she started lumbering around her bedroom searching for her computer. Half sleeping Purrloin pointed to its presence in the corner of the room. Sitting at her desk, Adnan lifted up the screen. Finally settling down, she calmly greeted Dante. A horrendous visage entered Dante's sight. Actually it was just Adnan, she was so concerned with any line that appeared on her face that she smeared it with a mud mask. Waving giddily at him, she exclaimed. "Here I am honey!"

When Dante was younger he thought that Adnan's mud mask was extremely scary, but now in his advanced age it was just silly. Mother nature was undefeated it was futile trying to resist it. Grinding his molars, he attempted not to make eye contact. "Sorry mom I didn't mean to interrupt whatever it is you're doing."

Squinting her eyes, like always Adnan knew exactly how Dante felt. Tapping her chin, she knew Dante would not call her without a reason. "Ahhhh...What's wrong sweetie?! Can't you sleep?"

"I...I'm sorry mom. I didn't mean to wake you up. Its just that I'm supposed to battle the Striaton Gym Leader tomorrow and its rattling me," sighed Dante staring at the webcam.

Cracks formed in Adnan's mud mask, she could not believe her ears. Blinking rapidly she leaned into the camera asking. "Oh isn't that a bit early. You just got Oshawott."

Strumming his fingers against the keyboard, Dante let out an exhausted huff. "I had a feeling it was a little too early myself, but I was kind of forced into it. I helped out at the Trainer's School by battling Cheren and I actually won. Cress, one of the Straiton Gym Leader was there and he suggested that I battle his brother Cilan and here I am. "

Puffing out her cheeks, Adnan became annoyed with him. "You don't sound all that confident. Your Pokémon will be looking to you for inspiration."

Forcing a phony smile on his face, Dante chuckled. _"I...I'm trying."_

Winking at her son, Adnan twirled her hair roller imparting some of her motherly advice. "Remember mommy's helpful tips. Number one: Everybody wants to be famous, but not everyone wants to put in the work." Could such a corny saying get him excited about doing this, who knew. "No matter what happens I'll still be proud of you."

"Alright mom I'll let you get back to sleep," stated Dante closing his laptop.

* * *

The next morning Dante and Cheren headed for the restaurant, it also doubled as a Pokémon gym. Making his way through the doorway, Dante cringed in horror, the Elemental Monkey was not a gourmet diner, but instead a butler's cafe. These types of cosplay restaurants were famous in Kanto. Usually it was maid cafés that catered mostly to men, however there were also a type for women called the butler café. The butlers in the Elemental Monkey were well-dressed male employees and they wore a typical waiter's uniform, a tuxedo with twin tails. Words could not even begin to describe the horror he felt. The cafe had an overall rich feel t it despite the bizarre theme, but probably the strangest thing was the stage in the middle of the entire room.

_"...What is this?" _Dante gasped looking around at the place. The last time he scanned the brochure, he could of sworn that it was definitely not a butler's café.

Stepping in next to Dante, Cheren took a deep breath leaning against a chair. "Yeah, I had the same reaction when I first visited this place. It seems like running the gym isn't their main thing." Usually he would not mind what type of café they entered, but it was just that this place was insanely bizarre.

From the stage, Chili bounced around grabbing the attention of all the ladies inside the café. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen." Even though he was a chef, Chili happened to be one hell of a showman. He spoke as if he were a ringleader controlling all the action. Dante noticed that Chili was dressed pretty much dressed like Cress, except his hair was spiky and fiery red just like his eyes. The waiter a long sleeved white collared shirt that appeared ironed about a millions times, the shirt was covered in creases, and his white cufflinks glimmered in the light. Around his neck was a red bowtie.

Following every movement of the peppy chef was his partner, Pansear. It was a simian, red-and-cream Pokémon. Its head was red with a whorled tuft on top. Pansear had oval eyes, a tiny nose, and large ears with orange insides. Its muzzle, upper body and skinny forelimbs were cream-colored, and its hands seemed to have no fingers, aside from a thumb. Pansear's lower body was red with small feet, and its long tail had an arrowhead-shaped tip. Unlike Panpour who was smooth, Pansear was fiery like Chili.

Sitting at their table, Dante removed his Pokédex from his backpack. Switching on the device he scanned the prancing little monkey. _"Pansear, the High Temp Pokémon: When it is angered, the temperature of its head tuft reaches 600°F. It uses its tuft to roast berries. Type: Fire."_

Focusing his attention towards the table, Dante trembled nervously. "There sure is a lot of ladies here."

Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, Cheren easily dismissed them. "Of course with all these men in here its like a beacon for desperate lonely women everywhere."

"May I take your order?!" asked Cress appearing at their table, he seemed to be the waiter for their table. Holding a tiny notebook in his hands, Cress passed out their menus. "For breakfast may I suggest a chocolate croissant, brioche, and to top it all off some pain au lait." All those French words flew over Dante and Cheren's heads, they just nodded taking his suggestion.

Scanning the menu Dante looked at the various dishes from the many regions Kantonian dishes, Kalosian dishes, and finally Unovian dishes. Dante was about to make an order before realizing that it was Cress staring at them. "Wait a minute! What are you taking our orders for?!"

Taking a seat next to them, Cress made himself comfortable. "Hehehehe...I told you guys that I love cooking. I feel closer to the customers by watching the pick a dish from elusive menu. Only our café serves these meals in the entire region."

_"Are you really okay with all this?! I mean it is a bit much," _Dante mumbled under his breath not wanting to be overheard by the other patrons. _"How do you ever hope to be taken seriously like this?" _Tapping his fork rythmnically against the plate, Dante counted the pings managing to calm himself down.

Cress' eyes rolled in his head, he actually appeared to be considering all of it. Banging his hands against the table, he shrieked. "The more the merrier I always say. Would I prefer a fancy café that caters to only the top of the line trainers and their Pokémon, yes. However, I am satisfied with as many people as possible eating our food." Despite attracting quite a bit of attention to himself, Cress nodded his head happy with his decision.

No matter how many times they interacted with Cress, he gave Cheren a strange vibe. "You've got to admire a guy whose comfortable in his own skin."

Leaving and quickly returning Cress and Panpour carried their breakfasts. Placing it down on the table he smiled. "Bon appetite!"

Sinking his teeth into the meal, a shiver went down Dante's spine. ""Ack...its too sweet." On his plate there was nothing but sugary foods.

Sitting back in his chair, a smug Cress basked in Dante and Cheren's disgusted expressions. "Traditionally Kalosian breakfasts are sweet. It's truly an aquired taste."

Pushing away with his plate, Cheren swigged down tons of water. Wiping his mouth, he groaned. "I see and obviously I haven't acquired it."

It was a shame that Dante as starving or else he would never eat such syrupy foods.

Standing on stage Chili nodded his head feeling a good vibe. Spinning around his microphone, he was ready to get things rocking. "Now will everyone in the Elemental Monkey give a round of applause to our newest challenger Dante Masters of Nuvema Town. He'll be taking on Cilan, the culinary genius."

Choking on his breakfast all the clapping caught Dante off-guard. Pointing at himself, crumbs toppled out of Dante's mouth. All the while stuffing his face, he had almost forgotten about the part where he be battling the gym leader. "Ack...Me?!"

Tapping his feet impatiently against the table, Chili glared at Dante who still sat at his table. Watching food dropped from Dante's mouth, he pointed the mic at him. Really, Dante had no clue about showbiz. These things had to be dragged out. "Of course kid. Duh, I thought Cress told you that you'd be facing Cilan."

Lowering his head, Cress appeared embarrassed about his brother's behavior. Shielding the lower part of his face, he lamented. "I really wish he wouldn't act like that..."

Shirking away from the clapping, Dante stared at his plate. "Uh...can I reschedule for later?!"

Holding out his hand, Cress repeatedly patted Dante on the back snorting. "Don't be like that. I know you can defeat Cilan besides all these paying customers deserve a show."

"Why are you so sure I can do this?!" Dante did not appreciate his playfully encouragement.

"Because aside from being master chefs, gym leaders, and overall stud muffins. My brothers and I are all Pokémon Connoisseur basically a person who specializes in identifying the compatibility Pokémon and their Trainers," announced Cress, a man of a thousand faces.

Gawking at Cheren, Dante exclaimed. "I've never heard of a Connoisseur!"

Another pointless profession Cheren simply shrugged it off. "Me neither!"

Sitting next to them just chowing down on the Kalosian breakfast, Cress explained. "Okay... its a Connoisseurs job to use their knowledge and experience to diagnose the bond between Trainer and Pokémon, and from there give advice on how to strengthen that bond. We can also help choose what Pokémon would be compatible for beginning Trainers who have not yet chosen their first Pokémon. We help those who don't receive a Pokémon from the professor."

"You compare trainers and Pokémon?! Sorry to break it to you, but Oshawott didn't have a favorable opinion of me," Dante huffed folding his arms. He never heard of a connoisseur, but Cress must of been a charltan.

Standing up out of his chair, Cress placed his hands on Dante's back pushing him towards the stage. "Nah, you and Oshawott go great together. Two things that don't seem to match, but come together to make something wonderful. Like peanut butter and chocolate, uh cheese and everything."

"Now evreryone settle down a gym battle is about to commence." Moving backwards Chili picked up two flags, one green and the other red. "This will be an official Unova League Pokémon battle between Dante Masters of Nuvema Town and the Striaton City Gym Leader Cilan for a Trio Badge. This will be a one-on-one battle each trainer will be allowed the use of one Pokémon."

A green cape adorned Cilan's shoulders as he stepped out with Pansage who also wore a cape. "Mesdames et Messieurs! Welcome to the Elemental Monkey where I'll be taking on this challenger with my marque premium, Pansage."

Doing a somersault Pansage wooed the crowd. It was a simian, green-and-cream Pokémon. It had oval, black eyes, large ears with light green insides, and a tiny, black nose. There was a broccoli-like sprout atop its head. In the sprouts foliage are three yellow, tapered seed-like shapes. Its muzzle, upper body, and skinny forelimbs were cream-colored, and its hands seemed to have no fingers, aside from a thumb. Pansage's lower body was green with small feet, and its long tail was tipped with two leaves.

Loads of applause washed over Cilan, he blew kissing towards the crowd. "Of course I love you all too. I think its my calling to introduce the Kalos region and its culture which is so raffiné."

A single spotlight focused on him making Dante even more nervous. Every step he took up the stairs walking towards the battlefield felt excrusating. _"Oh man...I think I might of eaten too much." _Was it like this when Adnan acted in a movie?! No wonder she was nuts, the spotlight could drive any sane man crazy. Hundreds of eyeballs were glued to him watching his every move. Dante was timid enough as it is, but all this attention was too much.

Removing his cape, Cilan held a single red rose between his fingers. "Greeting challenger, Dante. It will be an honor to put on a show with you." Even Cilan was dressed pretty much dressed like Cress, his hair was green with flicked up spikes towards the front, his hair was just like his eyes. The waiter a long sleeved white collared shirt that appeared ironed about a millions times, the shirt was covered in creases, and his white cufflinks glimmered in the light. Around his neck was a green bowtie.

Holding his gurgling stomach, Dante grumbled. "Um...Are...we...going...to...battle here?!" Aside from the spotlight and spectators, he saw cameras surrounding the stage. That was just great not only would Dante embarrass himself in front of these people, but now millions of people will see it all over Unova.

The battle had not even started and Dante was sweating profusely. Cheren did not like his chances against Cilan. _"Look at him. He's already a nervous wreck."_

Turning towards the stage Cheren removed his Pokédex from his back pocket scanning Dante's opponent. _"Pansage, the Grass Monkey Pokémon: It's good at finding berries and gathers them from all over. It's kind enough to share them with friends. Type: Grass."_

About to start the Pokémon battle, Chili checked both sides for confromation. However, Dante caught his eyes swaying back and forth. Lowering the flags in both of his hands, he inquired about his health. "Are you alright?! You're looking a little green around the gills."

Raising his arm, Dante replied. "Urp...I...I'm re...ready."

"Oooo...I know you hate being inside, but we've got to follow protocol," eeped Dante groggily reaching into his backpack pulling out a Pokéball. "Oshawott let's go."

A beam of light emanated from Dante's Pokéball releasing the Sea Otter Pokémon. Standing there beads of sweat pour from Oshawott, the spotlight was like an incinerator. Normally the overzealous Oshawott was all for fighting, but being on stage even rattled him. "_Osha!"_

Waving both flags high in the air, Chili got the battle rocking. "Battle! Begin!"

"Okay. Let's see what this challenger is made of. Pansage! Bullet Seed! S'il vous plaît," cried Cilan snapping his fingers.

Puffing out his cheeks, Pansage released multiple gold seeds surrounded in a light green aura from its mouth at Oshawott. "Sage! Pansage! Pan!"

Usually Oshawott would have evaded such a simple attack, but his stage fright kept him from moving an inch. The Sea Otter Pokémon had miscalculated severely, it had not envisioned an audience surveying his battle. Oshawott could not move even though he was subconsciously screaming it. Instead he was pummeled by golden seeds that knocked him clear across the wooden stage.

Staggering to return to its feet Oshawott struggled to shake off such a super-effective move. "Osha! Oshawott!"

"Don't just stand there like a numskull! Give Oshawott a command," Cheren shouted from his seat. Apparently he was the only person on Dante's side.

Cheren was right, Dante had to do something. However, a mixture of stage fright and nausea overtook him. As Dante tried calling an attack he could feel something terrible heading up his throat and covering his mouth he attempted to block it. But it was too late, a toxic mix of vomit spewed from his mouth. "Bleghhhh..."

Puking like that and in the middle of a gym battle no less, it was totally embarrassing. Cringing from the sight all the ladies in the crowd screeched in unison. "Ewwwwwww..."

Rubbing his temples, Cheren was more than a little frustrated. "Darnit! Dante!"

Looking at his feet, Dante stared at his green puke filled with orange chunks. How would he ever be able to live down this nightmare. _"No, no, no! Tell me that did not just happen." _Not only that he could just imagine what Adnan and Bianca wuld say after watching him vomit like that.

For a second there Cilan almost thought that Dante was sick or something, but it came apparent by his behavior. "Pokémon are very attuned to their trainers. Your stage fright was contagious infecting Oshawott. I am afriad I don't understand what Cress saw in you. I do not like this new flavor."

It was like night and day whoever that was on stage definitely was not Dante, Cress remembered that crafty young trainer that defeated Cheren just yesterday. _"He's folding under the pressure." _He was kicking himself maybe he pushed Dante too hard, he was fragile after all.

Cilan on the other hand showed little concern for Dnte's plight he had a match to win. "I will show you the bond of a trainer and their marque premium. Pansage use Work up!" Pansage stood up straight and reached. its hands up in the air, raising its attack power.

Narrowing his eyes at Dante, Cilan was incensed. He prided himself a showman, but his opponent was not going to suffice. "If he isn't going to fight back then just wrap things up with Bullet Seed."

Giving bow to the crowd, Pansage flipped through the air spitting out golden seeds. "Pansage! Pan."

Butterflies still fluttered around Dante's stomach, but Oshawott needed him. Pushing away his fears he actually gave it a command. "Urrr...use Water Gun."

Hearing Dante's voice snapped him out of his daze. "Osha?!" the Sea Otter Pokémon squeaked looking back at him.

Fighting the urge to throw up again, Dante sighed. "I'm sure just focus on Pansage. I know you'll be fine."

Looking at its opponent, Oshawott nodded gaining confidence. Opening his mouth he began releasing streams of water that spiraled at Pansage. It appeared that Oshawott's Water Gun was a split second slower than Pansage's Bullet Seed. The golden seeds ripped through the spiraling water bursting against Oshawott's skin like bullets.

Raising an eyebrow, Dante had finally piqued Cilan's interest. "Oh am I sensing some life?!"

Dante was used to being a loser, but he refused to let Oshawott follow him down that rabbit hole. "Y...yeah. I won't let Oshawott go down like this...use Razor Shell."

Feeling empowered Oshawott ran across the stage grabbing the scalchop on its stomach causing it to glow brightly. A light blue aura also appeared around the scalchop as Oshawott swung it low towards the ground. While swiping like a madman, the aura around the scalchop stretched and hardened behind it, forming into an energy blade. "Osha! Wott!" cried Oshawott leaping up slashing Pansage across the chest with it.

While Oshawott delivered some powerful blows, it was not strong enough to damage Pansage. Standing behind Oshawott, Dante felt a bit better. Ignoring the crowd, his attention was only on Oshawott. "Good that's a great start. C'mon we can win this."

Using attacks that Pansage was strong against would not work, so Dante switched tactics. "Okay...use Tackle." Lowering his head, Oshawott plowed into Pansage knocking it backwards bouncing it against the stage.

"Maybe he can pull this out," Cheren wondered from his seat.

"I think not. Pansage! Grass Whistle! S'il vous plaît ," announced Cilan impressed with Dante's barrage, but he still needed to nip things in the bud. Pansage pulled out a chunk of its sprout, brings it up to its mouth, and blowing into it. Dancing around like a bard many musical notes appeared, floating around Oshawott putting the Sea Otter Pokémon to sleep.

The butterflies flared in Dante's gut once again. "Oh no, no, no, no! This is bad. Wake up Oshawott." This was the worst possible outcome, Dante had no clue what Cilan was planning, but he knew he would not like it.

Dante's worst fears came to light, Cilan spun giving everyone a bow. He was about to call for his secret weapon. One simple word emerged from his lips. "Solarbeam."

Tilting back its head, the bush on Pansage's head started to sparkle light blue as it gathers energy from the sunlight. Pansage then held its hands up when it finished gathering energy and the bush became surrounded in a bright gold orb. "Pan..." Pansage then took the orb in its hands causing it start to glow even brighter. It then thrusts the orb forward and releasing a bright yellow beam from the orb at the sleeping Oshawott. The beam overtook Oshawott knocking the Sea Otter Pokémon unconscious.

Blinking wildly even Cheren was speechless he never expected such a technique. "Was that a Kamehameha Wave?!"

Raising up his flag, Chili motioned towards Cilan. "There you have it folks. Oshawott is unable to battle, Pansage wins. The winner of this battle is the Striaton City Gym Leader, Cilan." Applause for Cilan rained down making Dante's lost even more heartbreaking. Making matters worst a few of the female guests started laughing at his expense, Dante knew it was because of his vomiting spell.

Moving over to where Oshawott had fell, Dante started apologizing. "Forgive me Oshawott this was all my fault."

Dropping his head Dante carried Oshawott as he somberly walked off stage right towards an irate Cheren. No one would of blamed Dante for losing a hard fought match, but that was not what happened. Cheren immediately chewed his head off. "I can't believe you choked like that! Wait I better not get too close or you'll puke on me, right?"

"I...I'm sorry," Dante grumbled, he had no excuses.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is so late. I could make excuses, but they would be lies. Honestly, it had started to feel like work writing chapters but I want writing to be fun not an arduous task. I know this chapter is short compared to some of the others, but I need to get back into the flow of things. **

**Stay tuned for Chapter Eight. Munna's Dreamyard.**

Mesdames et Messieurs- Ladies and gentlemen.

Marque Premium- Premium brand

S'il vous plaît- Please

Raffiné- refined.


End file.
